Like A Fine Wine
by musicality14
Summary: It's been 25 years since the comet. Toph's little accident complicated her life, but it didn't complicate her feelings for a certain water tribe warrior. Multi chapter eventual Tokka. Post ATLA, pre LoK, includes canon LoK characters. Lemons will appear
1. My Little Badgermole

**Tokka! I just rewatched ATLA and fell in love with this ship all over again. To clarify, this is set post-ATLA canon, meaning that Kataang got married and Toph had our lovely Lin, BUT Suyin isn't in the picture yet. Suki and Sokka broke up at some point but idk how because a lot can happen in 25 years, so she won't be making any appearances. Yes, there will be lemons, but let's get some exposition rolling before the smut ;)**

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25 years. Had it really been that long? Toph sat at her desk mulling over the invitation that had been delivered to her office. You'd think that, as famous as she was for being blind, people would stop sending her paper invitations, but she supposed she could always bully her officers into reading them for her, which is exactly what she did. Aang and the rest of the United Republic Council had apparently decided to hold a huge celebration honoring the anniversary of the end of the war. To her, it was more like a reminder of how old she was getting. As much as being blind could suck, she was grateful she didn't have to worry about things like wrinkles or gray hairs. But still, this was kind of a huge deal. 25 years of peace after 100 years of war, and the world had changed so much. Reparations between the nations had been made and now there was a world capital, something Toph never could have imagined existing when she was a child. People of all origins lived there, benders and non-benders alike. Things weren't exactly perfect, though, which is why the police force was such a huge part of the infrastructure of the city. Once Toph's metalbending students, her officers joined her in moving to Republic City to form an elite task force, and over the past decade they had helped round up criminals and break up fights throughout the city. At this rate, things were looking up, and she imagined that in another hundred years the world would get along peachy keen, almost as if the war never happened. So yeah, maybe a celebration _was_ in place.

Toph wasn't surprised that she was excluded from planning the celebration; she couldn't possibly be much help, what with how busy she was both at work and at home. That didn't mean she wasn't a little disappointed in this being the first she'd heard of it. She was friends with the Avatar, for fuck's sake, you think he would have mentioned it to her before mailing out the formal invitations. For all the time Lin spent over at their place, having way too much fun with the youngest airbender in the world, he could have brought it up at _least_ once. No matter, though. She was planning on picking Lin up after work, so she'd have the opportunity to rip him a new one. After dismissing the officer who helped her, she made one final round through the headquarters before heading out early for the day. It's not like she had paperwork to do.

Still in her police chief uniform, Toph made her way to the ferry to air temple island. Not only did she feel more secure covered in sheets of custom-fitted metal, but the uniform got her out of the ticket fare. It almost made the boat ride bearable. She never enjoyed floating out away from the ground; it made her feel more vulnerable than usual. Her whole world perception got reduced to a small hunk of metal floating in the middle of undetectable space, and some parts of the ferry were made with wood, making her world even smaller. Why on earth did she agree to make this wretched island, knowing she'd have to take a boat to get there? When Aang proposed Toph construct an island in the middle of the bay, she couldn't say no. It was too great of a challenge. Bending an entire island up from the depths of the water? And having people live on it? She'd been forever known as the founder of that island, alongside already being known as the world's first metalbender and best earthbender. A long list of titles was just the thing she wanted, and adding on being responsible for the home of the future generation of airbenders just seemed too perfect. That being said, boats still fucking sucked.

When the ferry docked, Toph practically ran to the shore. She sighed at the feel of the coarse sand between her toes. It was fuzzy and unclear, but it was still earth, and it called to her senses. She picked up her feet and flicked some of the larger rocks out from between her toes before she began the long ascent to the temple. Toph understood that Aang wanted this temple to reflect the structures of the others, but did it have to be up so high? Even in her prime physique, she still managed to be out of breath by the time she reached the top. It's not like it was in the clouds, so why not just settle for ocean level, where people didn't have to exercise to stop by for a visit?

Toph finally made it to the front door, trying to hide her gentle panting, and knocked. The face that answered was none other than Katara's, who was smiling softly.

"Toph! You're early."

Toph shrugged. "Wasn't much going on at the headquarters. Now, where's my daughter?"

Katara turned and led Toph inside, where they wove through hallways to the back door onlooking the bamboo forest surrounding the temple. Down in the airbending training arena were four tiny people lit a bright orange by the setting sun. Kya was chasing Tenzin and Lin frantically, trying her best to stop the two children from falling off of the ball of wind holding them a foot above the ground. Bumi was standing in the corner of the courtyard, leisurely watching the scene in front of him with a laugh. His brown hair had grown far too long and he was in desperate need of a haircut. Toph tapped her foot impatiently and turned to Katara.

"You're gonna have to help me out here, Katara. Lately, people seem to be forgetting that I'm blind," she said sarcastically as she gestured to her face, "I can only see two kids out there, and both of them are far too big to be my little Lin."

Katara, almost identically to Kya, rushed across the courtyard and scooped up the two floating kids, causing the spherical, swirling air to dissipate into nothingness. "Tenzin! What did I tell you about air scootering? You could hurt yourself, or Lin! Do you want that?"

"No, mama," the embarrassed 6-year-old mumbled as he avoided eye contact with his angry mother, "me and Lin were just having fun."

"Well, you can have fun while on the solid ground." Katara plopped the two toddlers onto the ground. Kya finally caught up with them, gasping for breath as she bent over with her hands on her knees.

"I'm sorry, mom," Kya panted, "he's - ah - getting too fast for me. I can't keep up."

"It's alright, Kya. I know you tried. He's got too much of his father's energy in him," Katara said as she rolled her eyes at her memories. She lowered herself to Tenzin's level and looked him sternly in the eyes. "Now, Tenzin, I want you to promise me: no more airbending without your father around."

"I promise," Tenzin said with whimper, staring at the ground by his feet.

"Now apologize to Lin for putting her in danger."

Hesitantly, Tenzin turned to Lin and plunged into a deep bow that almost toppled him over head first, his big blue eyes glossy and sad. "I'm really, really sorry, Lin."

Lin, with her thick, black hair rustled from the wind, skipped over to Tenzin and grabbed one of his hands. "It's okay, Tenzin. I didn't get hurt. See? All good."

Feeling the sudden hand-holding done by her innocent little girl, Toph strode forward and cleared her throat, finally bringing her presence to her daughter's attention. Lin flicked her head toward the noise and her bright green eyes widened with excitement. She released Tenzin's hand, warranting a slight pout from the boy, before starting to sprint. "Mommy!" She exclaimed loudly with her little arms extending outward. Toph kicked the ground with her heel to bump up the stone beneath Lin's foot, sending the toddler flying into the air with a giggle and landing in her mom's arms. Lin snuggled her face into Toph's chest, paying no mind to the metal that covered it. "I missed you!"

"And I missed you too, my little badgermole," Toph said dotingly. Had you asked Toph 10 years ago if she would be snuggling a child and calling her cute nicknames, she would have said there was no way in hell. Yet here she was, doing just that. When Toph fell pregnant less than a year after meeting Lin's father, Kanto, she thought her life was over. The police force was just picking up and having a baby would set her so far behind in her career. Plus, with the type of parents she had, she didn't exactly know how to _be_ a parent. She had decided a long time ago that she didn't want to be a mom, intent on remaining an independent, badass woman that was a force to be reckoned with. But then this 'accident' happened. Before Kanto could find out, Toph ended things with them, driving him as far away emotionally as she could so that he wouldn't want to be anywhere near her. She didn't want him complicating things more than he already had.

After a couple months of secrecy, it became obvious that she was bending her uniform a bit looser than usual, and Katara confronted Toph with her suspicions. As much as Toph hated to admit it, she owed so much to Katara. She had just had Tenzin, her third child, when she found out Toph was pregnant, so she had plenty of experience to pass down to Toph. After all, her and Aang's kids seemed alright, so she must be a half-decent mom, certainly better that Toph thought she was going to be. She completely expected to fuck up this future child, but Katara didn't let that happen. As a master waterbender, healer, and mother, Katara proved to Toph that she could remain a powerhouse and still be a successful mom, so she took all of Katara's advice to heart whenever her ego allowed.

It helped that the Beifong estate gifted her a live-in nanny upon hearing of their future grandchild. It was a bit of a backhanded present, subtly letting Toph know that her parents had little faith in her ability to raise a child on her own. As the years progressed, however, that bitchy gift proved more useful than not. With another person at home to watch Lin, Toph didn't have to put her career on hold. Plus, despite being able to take care of herself while blind, watching a child posed another challenge. Lin was a happy baby, that was true, but also extremely curious and deviant. She was constantly getting into things, and even though Toph specifically instructed the architect to design their home with completely stone flooring, that didn't prevent Lin from climbing onto the wooden furniture and countertops. Were it not for the nanny, Toph doubted she would have been able to keep this small, squirming creature under control and safe from harm's way.

Whenever the nanny was overwhelmed with keeping Lin occupied or simply going to be out of town, she would bring Lin to Aang and Katara's estate. Lin had formed an incredibly strong bond with Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin. It was almost as though they were her older siblings, and Toph was happy that Lin was surrounded by so much love when she was busy with her chief duties. She knew Lin would do well with an actual sibling of her own, but putting herself through another pregnancy? Not a chance. The first one was too hard, and although she couldn't see herself in the mirror she could feel the stripes of tender scar tissue along the base of her stomach, no matter how taut her abs became. It was frustrating, to say the least, knowing that her body had been pushed to its breaking point just by bearing the result of unprotected fun.

"Where's Shia?" Lin asked, looking at her mother with doe eyes.

"She's visiting her family in Ba Sing Se, remember? It's just you and me this weekend," Toph answered as she tapped the tip of Lin's nose with her finger, "You won't get tired of me, will you?"

"Never!" Lin screamed with a giggle and Toph had to tighten her grip on the wiggling toddler.

"Woah there," Toph murmured, slightly annoyed, "be careful, you could fall and hit your head."

"Don't worry," Lin said smiling, "Tenzin would catch me with his airbending! Won't you, Tenzin?"

Tenzin jolted his tiny head toward the Beifongs, caught off guard at Lin's call. He was sitting cross legged in the center of the courtyard, and it seemed like he was meditating to calm himself after his mother's reprimanding. He really was Twinkletoe's kid, wasn't he?

"You can't always depend on someone else to save you, Lin," Toph began to lecture, "you have to be strong and look out for yourself."

"Yeah, little Lin," Bumi said as he strolled over and ruffled Lin's already-messy hair, "not everyone has bending to protect them, you gotta learn to make it on your own."

Lin whipped her head around to look at Toph, worry clouding her face, "But Mommy, you can earthbend! Won't I be able to bend, too? Or am I just gonna be like Bumi?"

The toddler was obviously distressed at the thought of not inheriting her mom's abilities to the point where she didn't notice how rude she was being to Bumi. There had always been tension between the Avatar's kids regarding bending. When their firstborn never developed any bending, Toph could tell they were disappointed, even though they reassured Bumi otherwise. Then came Kya, who immediately picked up an affection for water, and Katara could tell she would be a bender when she grew older. The first time she managed to douse her older brother in a stream of ocean water, Bumi threatened to run away unless she promised to never waterbend again. An unreasonable request, of course. It took quite some time before Bumi lightened up and didn't throw a fit every time Kya moved so much as a drop of water. Then came Tenzin, who only started airbending last year. He quickly became the prodigal son, and Toph could tell he was Aang's favorite. That, of course, was another rough patch for the family. With Tenzin being the first airbender born in over 100 years, he got an unbelievable amount of attention, which quickly pushed Bumi to the bottom of the barrel. Toph felt bad for the boy, but over time he'd grown more resilient to the point where he seemed just like the happy-go-lucky kid he used to be.

"Lin, that wasn't very nice to say," Katara interjected gently, "There's nothing wrong with not being able to bend. Why, Bumi's Uncle Sokka can't bend, either, and he's an incredible warrior and councilman. Everyone has the potential to be great, with or without bending."

"Yeah, what she said," Toph drawled, "Look, Lin, some people bend, some people don't. It happens."

"But I wanna be like you, Mommy," Lin whimpered with tears in her eyes. Toph sighed and looked at Katara pleadingly, hinting that she needed help. Katara rolled her eyes and turned the weeping toddler's face toward her, wiping her tears away with her thumbs.

"Lin, if Aang and I are proud of Bumi without any bending, then your mom will be, too. Try not to worry."

Toph mouthed a thank you to Katara as Lin's tears subsided and Toph lowered her to the ground.

"Thank you so much for watching her today, I don't know what I would have done without you."

"It's no problem. She and Tenzin get along great, we're always glad to have her over."

"Yeah, well, don't get any ideas, Twinkletoes Junior," Toph said as she pointed to Tenzin, who was hiding behind his mother's leg, while keeping her crystal eyes on the ground in front of her. Tenzin nodded vigorous and Toph smirked before letting out a chuckle. "Lighten up, kid, I'm only joking. Jeez, what'd I do to scare you so much?"

"Probably just act like yourself," Katara groaned as she stroked Tenzin's head, "Aunt Toph won't hurt you, Tenzin."

"You don't know that…" Tenzin mumbled into the fabric covering Katara's thigh, which he gripped tightly. When Toph raised an eyebrow at him, having heard what he said, he quickly ducked further behind Katara.

"Must you harass my kids, Toph?" Katara sighed as she crossed her arms.

"Yes. Anyway, is Aang home? I have something to ask him."

Katara nodded back toward the temple. "He's in a meeting with Sokka and some other council members. They should have finished by now, but looks like it's running a little longer than usual."

"Because of this I'm guessing?" Toph said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the invitation, holding it up both upside-down and backwards. Katara took the piece of parchment, turned it right-side-up, and scanned it quickly.

"I mean, probably. How did you…?"

"Read it? I have ways," Toph smirked.

"Are you bullying your officers again?"

"Hey, it's their job to do what I say, and I said someone had to read it to me. It's not my fault I got sent a paper invitation."

Katara shrugged. "It's probably just a formality. It wasn't exactly a secret that Aang's been planning this, it's been on his radar for at least a year."

"Then how come I hadn't heard about it? I see you guys all the time," Toph huffed.

"Yeah, in _passing_ ," Katara clarified, "We don't exactly all sit down and hang out anymore, you know."

"Well maybe we should change that," a deep, husky voice echoed from the temple. Toph didn't to be told who was talking. The shiver that ran down her spine and shocked her sex told her that it was Sokka, and she could feel another set of feet walking with him, which she assumed were Aang's. As the two figures neared them, Tenzin ran to his father, who encircled him in a ball of air and lifted him into his arms. Aang rested Tenzin on his hip as he continued carrying him, the small child nestling himself amongst the layers of golden fabric that nearly drowned Aang's figure. He had grown considerably, almost reaching Sokka in height and physique, but despite that Toph refused to revoke his iconic nickname. Toph snatched the invitation from Katara's hands and spun on her heels so that Aang's face was met with the piece of parchment.

"And what is this?" Toph barked at the surprised airbender.

"It's your invitation…?"

"And how was she supposed to know that, sweetie?" Katara teased. There was a moment of silence before both Sokka and Aang simultaneously slapped their palms to their foreheads.

"I can't believe we forgot Toph can't read," Aang said.

"Yeah, and you also forgot to _mention_ this whole shebang. How was I supposed to know you were throwing a big party?"

"By the, uh, the invitation," Aang said meekly as he pointed to the parchment still in Toph's hand.

"Doesn't that feel just a bit impersonal? We see each other at least once a week, you could have mentioned it at _some_ point."

"Look, I didn't think it was a big deal, I'm sorry if I offended you by not telling you in person."

"Yeah, come on, Toph," Sokka said as he strode to her side and slung an arm around her shoulder, sending a hot flash coursing through her body, "We'll make it up to you."

"Oh yeah?" Toph replied sarcastically, grateful that her bangs were most likely concealing the flush she could feel reaching the forefront of her face, "And how do you propose you do that?"

The words came out more sultrily that Toph anticipated, and she swore she could feel Sokka's hip twitch a bit before he pulled away to throw his arms in the air. "We're gonna throw the best party ever!"

Toph raised an eyebrow at him. "You are?"

"Yeah, we are?" Aang questioned, "I thought this was going to be more of a respectful ceremony to honor the occasional."

"Honor, schmonor," Sokka tutted, "This is a big deal, guys. We need to have _fun_ , and that means not just lighting a bunch of candles and exchanging war stories like old people do."

"You know there are going to be kids there, right?" Katara interjected, "Your niece and nephews, for example? This celebration is for the whole city, and that includes the children as well."

"Yeah, yeah, we'll have something for them, too, but that's not the point. I'm talking music, dancing, fireworks, the whole nine yards! Not to mention an open bar," Sokka emphasized as he nudged Toph.

"I do like open bars," Toph said contemplatively, not remembering there was a hyperattentive 5-year-old attached to her pant leg. Lin tugged at the fabric, catching Toph's attention.

"What's a bar, mommy?"

"It's a place adults go, Lin," Toph explained casually, "You're too little."

"I'm not little!" Lin huffed as she puffed up her chest to appear larger.

"Yeah, okay," Toph droned as she rolled her eyes, "Anyway, guys, keep me updated on this party. I've got a small child to put to bed."

Sokka knelt down to Lin's level and smiled at her. "Don't worry, Lin. I'll make sure you have a fun time, too. Unlimited egg custard tarts, I promise."

Lin's eyes beamed at the sound of her favorite dessert. Sokka picked himself up and set a large hand on Toph's shoulder near the base of her neck. "It'll be fun, Toph. You gotta let loose every once in a while."

Toph's heart quickened at the tender touch. Although her childhood crush on Sokka had long subsided, there was always something in her that wondered what it would be like to kiss those lips or, better yet, feel them elsewhere. She didn't have to see him to tell that he was fit. From the times she'd punch his arm affectionately she could feel that there was quite a bit of muscle there, and she estimated that his bicep was larger than her own thigh. The thought of being firmly held in his grip as he explored her body made her throb, and she could only imagine what it would be like with him inside of her. She'd had her good share of flings, for sure, so she was no stranger to sex, but not many had been able to match her vigor, or give it to her as rough as she liked. _Spirits_ , what it would be like to be ravaged by a strong, tribal man. Though she would never admit it, Toph had touched herself to the thought of Sokka's voice more than once, and boy did it expedite the process. She could even get herself off 2 or 3 times, depending on the day. As she'd grown older, though, and had a child of her own, her sex life had grown boring. The last person she'd slept with was Kanto, meaning that Lin was now a time stamp for the last time she'd had sex. Nobody had piqued her interest as of late, not with how busy she was kept with both work and home. The exception was Sokka, always Sokka. Their chemistry seemed to continue burning in spite of the years, and Toph didn't know if it would ever be acted upon. She was almost too afraid to try.

Toph shrugged Sokka's hand off of her before grabbing hold of Lin's little hand. "We're heading out. Thanks again for babysitting. Come on, Lin," Toph gestured as she turned back toward the temple. Lin had managed to grab a fistful of the fabric hiding beneath the layers of metal armor on Toph's hip and thigh and used it as a lead to follow her mother back to the ferry. Once home, she was tucked soundly into her own bed, and Toph was left alone with her swirling thoughts of lust and confusion.


	2. Home Troubles

Toph awoke to a small child clambering onto her bed, pulling the sheets partly off of the mattress and exposing one of Toph's legs to the cold air. Toph grumbled as she rubbed her face. She normally woke up early, so if Lin was waking her up that must have meant it was an ungodly hour of the day.

"Mommy," Toph heard Lin's small voice whisper far too close to her ear. She flinched, causing the weight on the bed to stir. Even though she couldn't see, what with her feet off of the ground, she could feel Lin sitting beside her, most likely on her knees.

"What is it, Lin?" Toph mumbled hoarsely.

"Can you scooch?" Lin grabbed the sheets she just crumpled up on one side of the bed and attempted to redistribute the fabric so it covered her mom's legs again. She then slipped her own legs underneath and snuggled them against Toph's frame.

"Lin, what is this all about?" Toph asked with a snap of her tongue. Lin didn't respond. "Can you at least tell me if the sun is even in the sky?" Hesitantly, Lin nodded her head. Toph must have slept in, then. Shia once mentioned how impressed she was that Toph got up before sunrise just to exercise before heading to police headquarters. Of course, the sun had no impact on Toph's sleep cycle, so she guessed that it was the months of being awoken by a screaming infant that made it that way.

"I wanna go back to sleep with you," Lin murmured, her little arms almost desperate to cuddle Toph. Toph sighed and patted her daughter's head, but then sat up and flung her legs off of the bed and set them on the stone floor. If she woke up after sunrise, there's no telling how late she was for work.

"You woke me up, Lin, I can't fall back asleep now. It's time to start the day. Get up," Toph almost ordered, and she felt Lin's weight plop to the ground. "Do you have school today?"

"Yes, mommy," Lin said meekly.

"Is that why you wanted to go back to bed?" Toph was met with nothing but silence, and she couldn't help but chuckle. "Come here," she said gently, and the little one walked into her open arms delicately, as though she were expecting anger from her mom.

Toph wasn't sure why Lin wanted to skip school, but it did concern her. It was Lin's first year, and already she had a reputation of being extraordinarily bright. That wasn't surprising, considering Lin would constantly get on Toph's nerves with all of her questions about the most random of topics. Did she annoy her teachers with all of her curiosities? If she did, Toph doubted they would report it to her. For as eager as Lin was to learn, she was well-behaved, having grown out of her tantrum phase before the semester began, so her teachers had no actual reason to be upset. No, what Toph wondered was if Lin's peers were annoyed with her. Children could be cruel, something Toph learned later in life after spending her youth locked away in the Beifong estate. She gently stroked her fingers through the bedhead of the girl in her arms and sighed.

"How are your friends, Lin? Do you have fun in school?"

There was a hesitant silence before Lin responded. "My friends are fine," she said quietly and almost convincingly, but Toph could feel her little heart quicken.

"Lin," Toph tutted, "why are you lying?"

When Toph heard a sniffle, she knew she had struck a nerve. She lifted Lin up by the waist and set her on one of her thighs, winding her arms around the whimpering child. Lin buried her face in Toph's shirt, no doubt to muffle her tears. Despite yesterday's brief episode, Lin typically did her best to hide her sadness, stating that she wanted to be as strong and bold as her mother. It was only when something struck her in a sensitive spot that she cried, and even then she only cried in front of her mom, usually because she wouldn't be caught if her tears were silent. Although her history was far too complex to explain to a child, Toph desperately wanted to tell Lin that emotions were alright and that there was no shame in feeling them. If she had been told that during _her_ childhood, then maybe she wouldn't be as fucked up as she was now. But how could she word it correctly? She was never good at expressing things like that. If only Katara were here.

"Listen to me," Toph said calmly, "If there's something bothering you, you're allowed to tell me. You don't have to lie."

"But I didn't lie," Lin said in soft protest. Toph said nothing, letting the silence between them brew until Lin felt obligated to continue. "...It's not a lie when nobody wants to be my friend."

Fuck. Toph's heart dropped to the absolutely bottom of her stomach. She felt both distressed and furious, and it took all of her self control to stay calm in that moment. How could those piece of shit kids make _her_ daughter feel that way? Lin was amazing, and every single one of them wasn't nearly good enough to be her friend. She simply tightened her hug, producing a small squeak from the child she was squishing.

"Well, _I_ want to be your friend, Lin. And I'm sure there are plenty of others. Look at Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin, they're your friends."

Lin perked up thinking about them. "Yeah, they are."

"And who cares about those losers at school, right?"

"Yeah," Lin agreed, her voice considerably more enthusiastic than before, "who cares about them."

"That's right. Now let's get you all ready, you have a lot of learn today and you can't let some jerks interfere with that."

Lin sprung from Toph's lap and went running for the kitchen. Toph followed suit, stepping off of her bed completely and going to her closet, where her metal armor called to her from the wooden shelf. She bent it around her body, conforming it to all of her curves and dips, before she followed the sounds of clanking ceramics being set out on the kitchen table by clumsy hands. The enjoyed breakfast together, Lin rambling on about all of the things they had been learning in school. Toph rarely got to enjoy this morning time with her daughter. Shia was typically the one to get Lin all ready for school in the morning, since Toph always had things to do at headquarters. The perk of being chief, though, was telling people to fuck off when she arrived late on days where it was just her and Lin. So she took her time, eating slow enough that Lin didn't think she was holding her back with her stories. She trusted that Lin would at least make sure that they got to the school on time. When the last of Toph's food was gone, Lin went to go change into her uniform and off they went to school. Toph left her with a quick kiss on the forehead before the eager child darted into the building with a newfound energy, and Toph made her way to headquarters.

As she walked down the street, thinking of ways to get back at the parents of Lin's classmates for raising such shitty kids, she collided with a large, muscular frame. Now, Toph wasn't paying attention, she could admit that, but how was another person so spaced out that they ran head-on into her? It was like they intended to hit her and make her already stressful day worse.

"Hey, watch it!" Toph snarled and tried to push past, only to have the man opposite her side-step so that they blocked each other once again. "I said, watch it, dumbass."

"My bad," A familiar voice said with a chuckle, and Toph immediately blushed when she realized it was Sokka she was talking to. Mentally tracing her steps, she figured out that she was almost at the United Republic Council building. They must have just let out of a meeting or something. Her fingertips grazed his taut abdomen as she lifted her hands to push him backward.

"Did you mean to run into me?" Toph asked, annoyed, and she felt Sokka shrug.

"You were obviously distracted, I had to take advantage of the opportunity," he jested. Toph huffed as she put her hands on her hips, popping one hip out to the side.

"Well, thanks, meat-head, but you're making me even more late than I already am." She stepped to the side and brushed past him, only to have her arm caught in his firm grip and she spun in his direction.

"Here, let me walk you. If your officers see you with a councilman, they won't ask why you were late. They'll just assume you were doing something important."

"Oh, 'something important,' that's a funny nickname for yourself," Toph said with a wink, almost surprising herself with how instinctively that came out. Lucky for her, Sokka laughed along, not making it weirder than it had to be.

"I like to think I'm an impressive person. Come on, let's get to you work, Chief," Sokka said with a sarcastic salute, and Toph just punched his arm in annoyed compliance before walking alongside him.

"Whatever, just keep up," Toph grumbled, forgetting that Sokka's height made it far too easy for him to walk even faster than her. She walked with her arms crossed and tried to suppress her heart rate, which had traveled downward and caused another area to throb.

"So, what was on your mind earlier?" Sokka asked.

"None of your business, that's what," she snapped. She didn't exactly want to talk about the fact that she daughter was being ostracized by her classmates, not when his sister had the three most famous children in Republic City. No one would dare mess with the Avatar's children. In fact, parents were practically throwing their children at Aang and Katara, hoping to build some sort of obligatory relationship that came with your children being friends. Fortunately, Bumi and Kya were great at seeing through the bullshit, and Tenzin was too shy to build any friendships beyond the one he had with Lin. But at least they had options. It seemed like Lin didn't even have a choice in the matter.

"Come on, Toph. We're friends, you can tell me anything." Sokka said, his voice still a little too proud for Toph to take seriously.

"Yeah, well, what if I don't want to talk about it?" Toph retorted.

Sokka stayed silent for a bit before he finally sighed and slowed his pace, pulling Toph back with him. Thank god, she was having trouble keeping up. "I mean, if you don't wanna talk about it, I'm not going to make you. But I worry about you sometimes."

"And what could you possibly be worrying about, Sokka? My personal life has never interested you before."

"That's not true," Sokka replied softly, "You mean a lot to me. You _and_ Lin. And I get the feeling that whatever you're upset about has to do with her."

Fucking hell. See, it was moments like this that kept her adolescent crush alive. Despite Sokka's rough exterior, he really did have a heart, one that sometimes beat in time with her own. Sokka didn't have any kids, and Toph could only assume it was because he just hadn't found the right girl. He was far too good of an uncle and father-figure to simply not want any kids of his own. With Kanto out of the picture, Lin had built an incredible bond with Sokka. Toph could remember one evening, shortly after Lin was born, where Shia was out of town and it was up to her to keep Lin alive and well. That, of course, didn't go well. Lin would _not_ go to sleep, and when Toph came into work the next day attempting to console a crying child with mile-long bags under her eyes, Sokka just happened to be visiting headquarters on behalf of the council. He took it upon himself to take them both home for some much needed rest. Toph protested with all the energy she had left, but when Lin fell asleep less than 5 minutes after Sokka began rocking her, she could swear her uterus was practically begging her to make a child with this man. So whenever he did something, _anything_ fatherly toward Lin, Toph could feel the same, deep-rooted sense of affection for him grow stronger.

"Since when did you learn to read minds," Toph mumbled indignantly, "Yeah, I'm having some issues with Lin, alright? Is that really what you wanted to hear?"

"No, not really," Sokka said, "I was hoping to hear that everything was rainbows and sunshine with you."

Toph scoffed. "Since when has my life ever been sugar sweet? There's always something."

"Can you tell me what it is this time?"

Could she? Toph wasn't really sure what was going on, if she was being honest. This morning was the first time she'd gotten a hint that Lin was having issue with her peers. She'd just assumed that Lin was having a normal, typical childhood, with a successful school life and lots of friends. It shouldn't be hard to make friends if you were actually being exposed to others your age, right? But the more she thought about it, Toph realized that all of Lin's playdates were over at air temple island. Not once did she recall picking Lin up from another house in the city; Lin was either already at home with Shia or bouncing around the island with Tenzin like it was her personal playground. Why didn't the other children want to befriend her? And were they acting apathetic, or was Lin being bullied and Toph had no idea? Fuck, why was balancing her life so damn hard?

"It's… I'm not sure," Toph said genuinely. Sometimes, it was easier to let her walls down around Sokka rather than keep fighting tooth and nail to stay behind a hard barrier. He would keep pushing, she knew it. "I feel like my life is currently a puzzle, yeah? And each separate part of my life is a piece of that puzzle. I know generally where they go, but there are some in between pieces that I've yet to discover, and while I focus on one part of the puzzle, the other parts get harder to complete. I don't even know if that makes sense…" Toph says as she attempts to hide her face in her palm, only to be interrupted by Sokka grabbing that hand in his own and squeezing it tight.

"No, no, I get it. Life is really, really hard. It's even harder when we have all of these responsibilities to maintain. But no one expects you to be perfect at it, at this balancing act. You have your friends, you have _me_ , to help you, so don't be afraid to ask."

Toph felt the slightest urge to cry, but she quickly shut it down and pulled her hand from Sokka's to punch his forearm. "Yeah, yeah, don't get all sappy on me, now," she teased.

Sokka chuckled at Toph and gently punched her back. "Hey, when does Shia get back?"

"In a couple days, why?"

"Well, I had an idea," Sokka said deviantly as he drummed his fingers together. "I think we're all long overdue for a fun night, don't you think?"

Toph raised an eyebrow in his general direction. "Isn't that what this big party is supposed to be for?"

"Yeah, but that's not for 2 more weeks. When Shia gets back, how about she watches the kids and we all just get wicked drunk?"

Toph couldn't help but let out a hearty cackle. "Sokka, you do realize that Aang is literally a pacifist monk in charge of maintaining the world's harmony, right? Do you seriously think he would agree to this?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Sokka said with a smirk, "I've seen him get quite intoxicated, even by water tribe standards. He can handle his liquor. Besides, he needs a break, too. Being the Avatar is heavy stuff."

"Hey, if you can get Twinkletoes to agree to it, then I'm all in."

Sokka did an enthusiastic fist pump as he hissed a 'yes' in celebration. "Oh man, this is gonna be so great."

Right as their conversation dwindled, the pair rounded a street corner and found themselves at the base of the staircase leading to the police headquarters. Toph stopped and placed a hand on the concrete railing, stepping one foot onto the bottom-most step. Sokka dipped into a playful bow and extended one hand out to Toph.

"'Twas a pleasure escorting you, ma'am."

Toph jokingly placed one of her hands in his, only to be surprised when he held it tight and raised it to his lips, placing a delicate kiss on the tops of her fingers. She felt herself immediately flush, but couldn't find it in herself to pull her hand away from him. His lips were smoother than she expected and heavily contrasted the rough texture of his calloused finger pads. He slowly turned his head up to face her, not raising it too far away from the surface he just kissed, and she could feel the slightest scruff graze her knuckles.

"And remember what I said earlier. We've got your back."

Toph's mouth was left gaping open as she tried to formulate some sort of protest. It was Sokka who had to release first, leaving her hand cold and lonely.

"Right, well, I've got to get in there," Toph stammered as she pointed behind her. Sokka just nodded.

"Have a good day, Toph."

Toph didn't bother to respond, not trusting herself to say something that didn't worsen her embarrassment, and spun on her heels before stomping up the steps. She practically slammed the main entrance door behind her, and she was shocked it didn't lit aflame with how hot her blood was running. God damn it, how did he get her to act like such a teenager again?


	3. Here's To What I Won't Remember

**Enjoy this 6.8k monster! Can't wait to hear what you guys think.**

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The rest of the weekend with Shia's absence proved easier than Toph had imagined. Lin had been on her best behavior, choosing to work on her homework than bug Toph relentlessly for attention or playing games. And Toph was grateful for that, what with all of the work she had to catch up on at the station. They'd spent the weekend at headquarters, Lin posting up in Toph's office and making the desk seem humorously oversized compared to her tiny frame propped atop a stack of pillows on the seat. Things would have gone so much quicker if only Toph could read, or if the officers would at least produce copies of all of the reports in the new Braille system that was in the works. It was still relatively new and difficult to interpret, but Toph was catching on quickly and found herself fascinated with the world of written words. Those blessed with the gift of sight, however, didn't necessarily find it a priority to learn it as well, creating a little problem with the number of translators available to actually produce anything in this new language. So, instead of taking care of things herself, Toph had to be read everything that she needed to sign off on. She tried to convince her executive assistant to just forge her signature since it looked like, well, a blind person scribbled it, but he was too much of a goody-two-shoes to actually do it. What was the point of an assistant if they weren't going to make your life easier?

Finally, Sunday came, and Shia returned home after her time visiting her parents. Before she could unpack, Toph asked her to watch the children while the adults had a fun night in on air temple island. If Shia wasn't happy with the sudden responsibility (which she wasn't), Toph didn't care enough to catch on. The Beifong Estate was paying her a _lot_ of money to act as Toph's nanny, so what was adding on three more kids for a night? So what if two of them could bend and the youngest two were curious troublemakers? Shia could just complain to Toph's parents and receive a hefty bonus, as she had multiple times in the past when she claimed Toph put too much on her plate. Personally, Toph thought she was just suffering from fruitcake syndrome, but whatever, she had yet to quit so obviously she could handle it.

Just as the sun was setting, Toph heard a knock at the front door and was greeted by the elated face of a mother about to be relieved of her children. Katara stood with Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin, all donning semi-mischievous looks on their faces in anticipation of tormenting Shia. They each held their own pack of overnight gear, including sleeping bags and pillows despite the excess number of guest bedrooms in Toph's home.

"Hey, Katara," Toph said with a grin, "you ready to go?"

"Of course!" Katara chuckled as she ushered her little herd inside. "You all be good this time, alright? I don't want to pick you up in the morning with the house in tatters."

"We can't make any promises, mom," Bumi winked despite Katara's stern expression. Before she could say any other foreboding words, Lin came rushing into the room and tackled Tenzin, only managing to stay upright when they collided into Bumi's leg. Bumi yelped in startled pain but was swiftly ignored by the giggling children behind his agony. He flicked them away and rubbed at the site of impact before making his way to the kitchen, where he would inevitably raid the pantry of all of the good snacks before Shia could tell him 'no.' Kya ruffled the already-messy hair of her honorary little sister and led them into the playroom, commenting on how cute the pair of them were together and soliciting a bright red flush from the miniature airbender. Katara and Toph couldn't help but smile upon their children's autonomy, proud of the little people they'd grown to be and happy at the fact that they were close friends like their parents. Toph let out a sigh and reached for leather bag, which was already loaded up with her own overnight gear.

"Let's escape before we witness anything need to reprimand," Toph said, already hearing some of Shia's distressed attempts at controlling the gaggle of children overtaking the house. Katara nodded and turned to flee from the area, Toph close behind. Appa was waiting at the end of the yard. Although Toph couldn't see, his fur had streaks of dark grey speckled through his creamy beige coat, and his eyes had become fuzzy from the progressing cataracts. He was nearing the end of his time, but after all he'd been through Toph knew he wouldn't give up without a fight. Once she and Katara were all loaded up, a quick 'yip yip' sent Appa into the air and gliding toward his home. Katara turned to Toph and looked at her excitedly.

"Tonight's gonna be fun," she commented, "it's been a while since we've all hung out."

"Yeah, plus there's gonna be alcohol," Toph said.

"When was the last time you drank, Toph? Was it that one night when-"

"We don't talk about that," Toph interrupted with slight panic in her voice.

"Oh, come on, you were an unabashed party animal at one point, shouldn't you be gloriously recounting your epic tales of drunkenness?"

"Not that one, though!"

Katara sighed in defeat. "Fine, but you at least admit that that was your last time getting drunk, right?"

Toph kicked her feet against the saddle with a pout on her lips. "Maybe."

"Wow, that was before Lin was born."

"I'm well aware of that!" Toph cried indignantly, "I don't have time for _anything_. It's tough being a mom."

Katara raised an eyebrow at Toph as she glanced back at the stubborn woman sitting in her airborne, fluffy mini-van littered with toys and other random children's items. "Really? I had no idea."

"Sorry," Toph muttered, "I'm not trying to be insensitive. You're passing your mom-exam with flying colors, literally," she said as she gestured to the animal chauffeuring them across the city. "I'm just not cut out to be a mom is all."

"Don't talk like that," Katara scolded, "you're doing a great job. Lin is an amazing little girl."

"Well, duh, of course she is. She's awesome."

Toph huffed as she thought of the anxiety plaguing her since Lin's comment. Lin was great, spectacular, and best of all, _hers_. So why couldn't others see the same? Katara could, so it obviously wasn't Toph's maternal bias blinding her from the possibility that her child wasn't a good one. But as much as Toph needed it, Katara wouldn't possibly be able to provide any insight into her current dilemma. After all, what experience did Katara have with mothering a bullied child?

"Is something bothering you?" Katara asked delicately.

Yes.

"No."

"Come on, Toph, you're not the only one who can detect a lie. Bumi thinks he can get away with a lot of things whenever Aang is away, but I always see through it. What's on your mind?"

Everything.

"Nothing."

Before Katara could interrogate Toph for more details, Appa landed on the front deck of the estate on air temple island with a loud groan. His tail thumped the ground and vibrated the earth beneath them. Toph quickly lept from the saddle as they landed and hit her calloused feet on the stone deck in time to feel the intense waves from Appa's tail, and could therefore see just how much weight he'd lost in his old age. Or maybe it was just because she'd gotten larger herself? It was hard to tell when she only really saw him when they were going to travel via air and was even more blind than she already was.

"Thanks, Appa," Toph praised as she stroked the collosal shoulder of the gentle giant. Katara plopped down from the saddle right in front of Toph, startling her just enough to retract her hand from the clump of fur she had been anxiously detangling. She could tell Katara was glaring at her with some sort of magic mom trick. Toph just raised an eyebrow, proud of her immunity to any mother's tricks.

"What?"

She felt an amused huff of air hit her cheeks. "I'll get it out of you eventually," Katara teased.

Toph rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Sugar Queen. Let's get inside before the boys drink all the booze."

Toph's words seemed to flip a switch, because as soon as she brought up the alcohol all of Katara's attention redirected to getting inside, leaving Appa to his own devices. As much as she loved her children, Katara became a mother very early in her life and had little time to tend to her own selfish whims. Sure, they had all had some fun in their later teenage years, but when it came to truly letting loose Katara had to settle for once in a blue moon. So when they had the rare opportunity to actually do so, Katara went _hard_. She was from the southern water tribe, after all, so she could handle her liquor. In fact, Toph almost thought Katara could beat her in a drink-off. _Almost._

Katara and Toph made their way through the house, almost stepping out the back door before Katara stopped, pivoted on her heels, and began heading down another hallway.

"Where are you going?" Toph asked, staying put in front of the back door and pointing out onto the deck. "The alcohol is this way."

"Need to make a pit stop! Come on," Katara called behind her, not slowing her pace. Toph grunted and followed. Eventually, after twisting and turning through a back corridor, they made it to a tall room lined with square shelves. Each shelf held a different glass bottle, but that fact was invisible to Toph.

"What is this place?"

"It's our spirits cellar. We don't get into it often, but I know that the boys only have beer out there and I don't particularly enjoy the taste." Katara hummed as she browsed the wall until she found what she was looking for with an 'ah-ha' and snatched a bottle from its shelf. "I've had this stuff for a while, now, but haven't have the chance to drink it. I picked it up when we traveled to the South Pole for dad's birthday."

Katara removed the cork with an echoing pop and held it out to Toph, gesturing for her to take a whiff. When Toph did, she almost dropped to the ground. That stuff couldn't possibly be legal! "What the hell is that?" she exclaimed.

"A special type of moonshine. It's made from fermented sea prunes, a southern water tribe specialty."

Ugh, so _that's_ what Toph smelled. "And how strong is that, exactly? It could probably dissolve wood!"

Katara laughed. "That's the point, it gets you drunk so much quicker. I think it's 120 proof? Wait, no, 130, says right here on the bottom."

"Katara, you can't possibly be serious. That stuff will disintegrate your throat."

As if she were posed a challenge, Katara held the bottle up to her smirking lips and took a deep swig, not even faltering as the alcohol scorched her tongue. She hissed a satisfied 'ahh' when the last of the liquid made it to her stomach and licked her lips to capture anything that didn't make it on the first gulp. Toph just stood with her mouth gaped open.

"I overestimated you, Toph. I thought you never backed down from a challenge."

After grumbling something about the most innocent-looking people being the worst influences, Toph snatched the bottle from Katara's grasp and took a swig herself. The amount of moonshine she had dumped into her mouth took two swallows to get entirely down. Surprisingly, it didn't taste like sea prunes, and went down a lot smoother than the smell let on. The recipe must have been generations old, having been perfected over and over again to ensure the quickest transportation to the land of the drunk. Toph aggressively pushed the bottle back into Katara's chest.

"You were saying?"

"Impressive," Katara nodded as she replaced the cork back into the spout. "Now let's not keep the boys waiting.

The two women finally made their way into the back deck of the temple, where Aang had started a roaring bonfire in the center of the airbending training arena. The sun had just finished setting, so it was the only light they had to illuminate the backyard - not that Toph minded. Sokka was roasting some sort of meat over the fire with an overly long stick in one hand and holding a ceramic mug of beer in the other. He was so focused on his cooking, in fact, that he didn't notice Toph and Katara arrive when Aang greeted them.

"Hey, you're back!" Aang grinned as he pulled his wife into a quick embrace with a peck on the cheek. "Have any trouble with the kids?"

"Not at all. You know how much they love spending time with Lin, sweetie." The moonshine had already begun to hit Katara and she swayed a bit in Aang's arms. Aang caught a whiff of the alcohol wafting off of Katara's lips as she spoke and blinked a bit at the potency.

"Did you guys get started already?" Aang asked. Katara smirked and held up the bottle she had been carrying at her side, twirling it in the air as she did. Aang, apparently recognizing the bottle, widened his eyes with a smirk and snatched it from her. "Been a while since we had some of this, huh?"

"I'd say about Tenzin plus 9 months," Katara teased as she leaned up to kiss the now beet-red cheeks of her thoroughly embarrassed husband.

Toph had decided to skip to mushy reunion and walked toward the bonfire, feeling the heat in her face from both the quickly absorbing alcohol and the roaring fire before her. Sokka still hadn't noticed her presence. Toph was initially going to make some crass comment to Sokka about how much he loves a good package of meat, but hesitated when she felt his heart beating slower than normal. Now, she didn't necessarily make it her business to monitor his vitals at all times, but Sokka typically ran warm with a speedy heart, what with his energetic personality and constant stress from being on the council. But not this time. Toph paused with a few more steps to go, just watching and studying him. There had to be something on his mind, something so overwhelming that he couldn't maintain his cheery demeanor when left alone with his thoughts. This didn't seem like normal worrying about councilman duties. No, it felt deeper, and Toph found herself concerned, wanting so badly to reach out to him and pull him into a hug that would comfort him until he spilled either tears or words. She may be a stone-cold bitch sometimes, but when it came to her friends she couldn't just stay put on the sidelines. Actually finding the right words to say, however, posed another challenge.

"Hey… you," Toph said as shuffled up beside Sokka and awkwardly patted his arm, jostling him from his trance in a not-so-manly yelp.

"Toph, fuck, hi there, I didn't… ah, I didn't see you guys get back," Sokka stammered as he looked between both of his occupied hands trying to figure out which item he could put down in order to properly greet his friend. He decided on both, leaning the long skewer against a rock and placing his mug at his feet before reaching out and pulling Toph in a hug. With her face against her chest, she could smell a combination of cologne and his natural musk, and she found herself inhaling his scent just a little too deeply to not be considered creepy. Fuck, he always smelled so good, especially when he had just worked out and was drenched in pure Sokka smell. Toph didn't know why she found it so arousing, but she did nonetheless. She tried to suppress the flutter in her chest until he released her, his fingers lingering on her skin just a little too long as he pulled away.

"What were you thinking about just now?" Toph asked, and Sokka let out a half-hearted chuckle before he spoke.

"Oh, it's a long story, actually, I don't wanna bore you with the details." Sokka patted Toph's shoulder heartily. "Here, we brought out some lawn chairs to sit by the fire. Sit down! I'm sure you're tired from working all day." He continued babbling in an attempt to derail the conversation, even going so far as to physically move Toph by the shoulders and push her down so that she was seated in the chair he so adamantly wanted her to have. He would have kept going, too, if Toph hadn't snapped her hand palm-forward into his face.

"Sokka, you're rambling."

"I am not rambling!" Sokka exclaimed with the faintest hint of a voice crack, obviously forgetting that Toph could see through anyone's facade. Before he could protest further, Toph stood and placed a hand on either side of his face, catching him off guard. She could tell she was now buzzed, because she never let herself get touchy-feely unless her inhibitions were lowered. Whatever her hands were doing, she felt as though she didn't have an active role in controlling them. Her thumbs had decided to rub along Sokka's jawline and explore the rough texture of his stubble, and her other fingers ever-so-gently grazed the soft spot behind the ear that she herself found to be quite erogenous. The moment festered for long enough to bump up Sokka's heart rate and Toph had to snap herself back into focus.

"I believe it's my turn to tell you that we have your back. I know you were lying to me just now - and don't try to deny it, I'll be able to see through that lie, too. But, like a wise man once told me, you don't have to be afraid to ask for help. I'm here for you."

Damn, that came out a lot smoother than Toph had expected. Maybe she should get drunk more often if it put her this in tune with her emotions. Then again, if she drank every time she had trouble finding the right words to say, she would for sure be a raging alcoholic. Once her words sank in, she could feel Sokka's body loosen under her touch. In fact, Toph thought she could feel his weight shift as though he was about to lean forward - at least until Aang and Katara came bounding over to the fire, and Sokka turned his head to greet his sister. Toph pulled her arms quickly to her sides.

"Little sister!" Sokka cheered as he hugged the giddy woman approaching him. She must have taken another swig of the moonshine because she was acting more and more bubbly by the second.

"I have a present for you," Katara teased, "close your eyes and open your mouth."

"I… wait, what?"

"Just do it!" Katara whined with a small stamp of her foot. Not wanting to annoy the beast, Sokka complied. Katara pulled the moonshine out from the inner pocket of her dress and struggled to pull the cork from the mouth of the bottle, even shooing Aang's hand away when he tried to open it for her. The cork finally pulled free and Katara little out a whispered 'ah-ha.' Carefully, and with the grace of a hippo cow, she bent a small blob of the alcohol and moved it into Sokka's open mouth. He swallowed, not even flinching at the strength. A true water tribe man. His eyes popped open with excitement.

"Yo! When did you get another bottle? I haven't had this since I visited dad last summer!"

"I'll never tell," Katara winked. Sokka reached down to pick up his beer, dumped it into the fire - which caused a roar of flames to erupt behind him - and snatched the bottle away from Katara to fill his small cup to the brim.

"Hey!" Aang objected, "Why'd you waste the beer like that? I made that using a special air nomad recipe we found in the eastern air temple ruins. It took a month to make!"

"No offense, Aang, but let the water tribes stick to the alcohol, yeah?" Sokka said as he took a sizable gulp from his cup and smiled wide. "I'm sure you found some salad recipes you can try out! I, personally, will stick to a carnivorous diet, but I'll bet those recipes taste great."

"Wait, you said you liked the beer!" Aang said, his face donning with the realization that his friend may have lied to him to prevent any sore feelings.

"I mean, yeah, it's good and all, but have you _tried_ this moonshine? Nothing compares to this, not even a one hundred year old recipe that somehow manages to _taste_ like pacifism."

Aang could only find himself able to sputter out a few vowels in protest before Katara wrapped an arm around around his waist and used the other to pat his chest comfortingly. "It's okay, sweetie, I enjoy the beer."

It took all of Toph's self-control not to snicker at Katara, knowing what she had said moments ago in the spirits cellar. She managed to convince Aang, though, considering he only huffed in annoyance before dropping the topic completely. Toph wondered just how often Katara lied like that just to quell Aang's emotions. It was so ingrained in her as an automatic response that she didn't falter with her words, even while drunk. Knowing Katara, Toph knew she would dismiss it as too innocent to even be considered a lie, but despite Toph's rough exterior she had a strict personal rule of honesty. It got her into trouble often, but it also gained her respect and got her to where she was now. She would never look down on Katara for lying, but it did make her curious.

"So, are we going to keep taking turns swigging straight from the bottle or are you and I going to get proper drinks?" Toph asked.

"Oh! We don't have cups!" Katara laughed. "I'll be right back."

Katara flitted off into the kitchen. Aang pulled up one of the chairs near the bonfire and arranged it so that it created a circle with the other chairs. He sat down, his back now to the bonfire, and picked up his cup that had apparently been sitting on a nearby stone. Sokka took to sitting in the chair between Toph and Aang, while Aang took a sip of his drink and smacked his lips contemplatively.

"It doesn't taste like pacifism…" He murmured into the cup. Sokka smacked Aang's arm playfully.

"Hey, buddy, I was only kidding! Now chug that down so we can get the _real_ party started," Sokka said while tapping the neck of the moonshine bottle against the brim of Aang's cup.

"This - it's meant to be enjoyed and savoured!" Aang argued.

"Come on, Twinkletoes! Chug!" Toph encouraged. She and began chanting until the corners of Aang's lip upturned and he smiled. Much to Toph's surprise and satisfaction, Aang downed the whole cup in record time, his face twitching with the burning sensation that no doubt hit his throat.

"And the crowd goes wild!" Toph yelled. Sokka hooted and fist bumped the air before he grabbed Aang's forearm and brought it closer to him so that Aang's cup was within reach of the moonshine Sokka was attempting to pour.

"Now, I don't suggest you chug _that_ ," Sokka warned, "but I guess you would already know that."

Katara interrupted whatever Aang was about to say by plopping into his lap with two empty cups in her hands. She took the arm that wasn't currently wrapped around her husband's neck and tossed one of the cups toward Toph. Of course, Toph didn't notice this, and wasn't prepared to have Sokka's arm come flying an inch away from her face to intercept the airborne piece of ceramic.

"Katara!" He exclaimed.

"What?" Katara asked innocently before finally looking toward her annoyed older brother. She blushed with embarrassment, although that was hard to tell with the alcohol already reddening her cheeks. "Oh! I forgot Toph couldn't see!"

"How do you forget that Toph is blind? That's kind of a defining feature of hers!" Sokka questioned.

"The same way you forgot that she couldn't read when you sent her a paper invitation just last week!"

A small squeak left Sokka as whatever retort he had pre-prepared in his mind was squashed to oblivion. Toph just laughed.

"You guys act like I'm offended about passing as a seeing person. Like, I get it, I'm really well integrated into the world, no need to make a big deal over it."

And honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal. She'd been blind her whole life, so she really didn't know what kind of a world she was in. Sure, she'd never be able to distinguish between colors or pick up on someone's minute facial expressions, but her world wasn't a small one. She had a better connection to the Earth than anyone else, she was sure. And no one could ever lie to her. That was by far the best perk. Well, aside from being the world's greatest earthbender. But the fact that she could survive mostly unassisted was her standard, and she was really fortunate in the great scheme of things. Without her earthbending, she would be stuck, completely dependent on someone else to help her just survive. It was unheard of for a blind person to live a well-rounded life, so if she had to correct people every now and again, she didn't mind.

"Alright, sassy pants, let's just fill up your cup and focus on getting you drunk, yeah?" Sokka quipped as he filled Katara's cup with moonshine.

"Ooh!" Katara shouted, startling her friends, "I have an idea!"

"Oh, please, _do_ tell," Toph droned as she rubbed her ear from the sudden shout and accepted the moonshine Sokka had poured into her cup and was handing over to her.

"Let's play a drinking game. I have the perfect one."

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Now I'm intrigued."

"It's simple, really. We sit in a circle and we each have a drink. The person next to you will whisper a question that isn't a yes-or-no question, but also can be answered in 1 or 2 words, like a person, place, or number. You have to answer the question out loud, or drink to get out of it. Then, you flip a coin. If it lands face up, you have to say the question out loud. Face down, you're safe. Then it keeps going around the circle, changing between clockwise and counterclockwise once it get backs to the first person. The only rule I like to impose is that the questions have to actually be interesting."

"And by interesting, you mean sexual, don't you?" Sokka asked.

"Well, not exactly, but I certainly think that counts as interesting," Katara said as she took a sip of her drink and flicked her eyebrows at her husband. Aang shifted his legs ever-so-slightly, moving Katara a small ways forward and off of an appendage Toph was sure was intrigued by the thought of Katara getting sexual.

"You're my sister!"

"Oh, grow up! I think I have 3 pieces of evidence proving that I've had sex before, Sokka. Besides, we're sitting across from each other, you won't have to ask me any questions."

"Well, I still don't wanna hear about that stuff!"

"Sokka, I promise to not ask Katara any sexual questions," Aang reassured.

"I'm not!" Toph grinned.

Sokka tried to hide the flush on his face by looking toward the fire while Katara patted her hips in search of something.

"Wait, I don't have a coin on me."

Aang dug into the depths of his pocket until he found a small stone Pai Sho piece. "I think this will work."

Katara plucked the piece out of Aang's hand and sat herself in the chair between Aang and Toph. "Perfect. I'll start."

The group then began the game, going around asking innocent enough questions to start. Katara tried to weasel out the name of Lin's father, but Toph just laughed, sipping her drink and wondering why Katara didn't wait to ask that question when she was too drunk to have a filter. Toph mischievously asked Sokka who his least favorite member of the council was and wasn't all that surprised at the answer. Aang got asked a question from Sokka that immediately made his eyes bulge and cheeks flare, and in response drank some moonshine while glaring at his brother-in-law. Toph managed to get out of Katara that her first kiss was with Jet, much to Aang's annoyance. Eventually, as all drinking games work, they all became much too inebriated to care about the repercussions of their answers, Katara even saying Kya's name proudly when Toph asked her to pick a favorite child. No one else knew that, of course, because luck ran in her favor and the Pai Sho piece landed face-down.

It was Aang's turn to ask Sokka a question, and he smirked evilly before leaning in and asking. Sokka quirked an eyebrow and was about to grab his cup, but suddenly pulled his hand away and puffed out his chest as he answered "9." Aang burst into a brilliant shade of red and Katara looked at him inquisitively.

"What on earth could you have asked him?" She slurred.

Sokka just chuckled. "Oh, sis, you don't wanna know."

Katara frowned and grabbed the Pai Sho piece in one swift, exaggerated movement before flinging it forward and watching it as it bounced off of Sokka's shin and landed face-up in the middle of the four of them. "Well, too bad, because now you _have_ to say it."

"Go on, Aang, you can tell the girls," Sokka said as he gestured toward them.

If it were somehow possible, Aang became more red and attempted to bury his head into his neck to avoid the expectant gazes of Katara and Toph. When his drunk mind registered that that wasn't going to work, he sighed. "I asked him, you know, how big… his, uh, dick is."

It took a second, but Katara screeched and recoiled in her seat. " _Why_ would you ask that?!"

"Because it was what I asked _him_ earlier, but he was too chicken to answer," Sokka teased.

While the two hot-headed water tribe siblings bickered over why he would ask that of his sister's husband, Toph sat in an almost trance-like state. She squeezed her legs together discretely, pressing firmly on her throbbing sex with her thighs and sending a small shock up her abdomen. It wasn't like she could actually see how long that many inches really was, but the way he said it insinuated that it was an impressive number. Plus, just talking about Sokka's dick was just sexual in nature, how could she not be turned on? She finally snapped herself out of imagining the feel of him inside of her and laughed, interrupting the argument and bringing attention to her.

"Honestly, Katara, it's not that big of a deal. He's a guy, he has a penis, it's simple logic. Besides, what was that measurement in, anyway, millimeters?"

The siblings gaped at her with their faces a cool pink as Aang snorted and began laughing. Katara's astonishment didn't last long, because soon enough she was laughing alongside Aang and Toph at Sokka's expense. A very flustered Sokka kept trying to formulate a response about how it would have been too obvious of an answer if he had included the units in his initial answer, but he gave up when he realized his words were only being drowned out by their laughter. They continued their game further, getting more and more inebriated and not realizing that they were all quickly hitting their limits.

"C'mmere," Katara mumbled as she flailed her hands, gesturing Toph to come closer, "Now it's _my_ turn to ask _you_ a question."

Toph leaned in close, intending to prop her elbow up on her knee and settle her face in the curve of her palm so that Katara could whisper in her ear. Instead, her drunk brain miscalculated and sent her elbow too far out, slipping past her knee and causing her to practically nosedive into the ground below. She managed to catch herself when her elbow stabbed the ground and propped up like a tent post, but her chin still smacked against her hand and she couldn't help but cackle at the whole thing. Katara laughed, too, hunching over as she clutched her stomach in tears. The grown women-turned-girls couldn't stop laughing; the alcohol in their system just made everything that much funnier. A piece of moss came flying toward them, bouncing off of Toph's forehead and catching her attention. Where had that come from? She didn't see it coming. Everything was so fuzzy to her, what with her head spinning and interfering with her seismic abilities.

"Hurry up!" Aang said with a giggle, "you two are… you're taking for- _ever_."

"Sweetie, shhh," Katara hushed as she tried to catch her breath from all the laughter, "I got this, just, _shhh._ Toph, _Toph_ , listen, I have the perfect question."

Toph had to practically cling to Katara shoulders as the drunk waterbender leaned in and cupped her hands around Toph's ear, lips almost touching her earlobe were it not for the hair blocking it. It took a few interrupting giggles, but Katara managed to get her sentence out.

"If you could fuck anyone in the _whole city,_ who would it be?"

What a saucy question for the poised airbender monarch to ask! Toph immediately knew her answer, but she was smart enough not to say it out loud, not when he was right in front of her.

Unfortunately for her, alcohol doesn't discriminate based on intelligence.

"Sokka."

Katara and Toph simultaneously slapped their hands over their own mouths, Katara making a surprised gasp and Toph a groan.

"Wow, that's quite the response, Katara," Sokka said, intrigued. He grabbed the stone coin from the center of their little circle and twirled it between his fingers. "Can't wait to see what all the fuss is about."

Fucking hell, what did she just do? She just admitted the name of who she'd fuck to his _sister_. Katara was way too drunk, and would certainly not remember any details in the morning, but now there was a chance that he could find out as well! Why did she drink, again? Toph just prayed that the coin landed face-down. Were she able to differentiate the two sides, she'd just earthbend her way out of this mess, but no, she just _had_ to be blind and the designs just _had_ to be painted on.

Toph heard the flick of Sokka's nail against the stone coin and held her breath. Her fate was about to be determined for her. Could she just run? She should run. They couldn't get an answer out of her if they couldn't catch her. Before she could plan her escape route, she felt the weight of the coin hit the ground and her chest tensed, waiting for someone to speak.

"Tch," Sokka tutted, "heads down. Guess you got lucky."

Toph was about to exhale a sigh of relief when she felt the firm grip of a certain waterbender enclose her wrist and yank her to a standing position, despite how wobbly Katara was from the alcohol.

"Sorry, boys, but we're gonna have a _girl_ chat. Excuse us."

Toph bickered in protest as she was drug to the air temple for a private conversation. Katara spun on her heels once she closed the back door and faced Toph.

"You want to _fuck_ my _brother_?"

"What?" Toph asked, exasperated, "He's hot!"

"Toph, you can't even see."

"Well, he _sounds_ hot, and he _feels_ hot, so as far as I can tell, he's hot. Happy?"

A drunk Katara tried to shift her weight from her left to right hip, only to fall off balance and catch herself on a nearby wall. "Have you… have you fucked him before? _Wait_ ," she interrupted herself very dramatically, "Is my brother Lin's dad? Am I an Aunt? Toph, you _need_ to tell me if my brother is the father of your child -"

" _No_ , Katara, fucking Spirits," Toph had to stop Katara's words with a hand over the waterbender's mouth. Her rambling was spilling out in a single, panicked breath and she wasn't giving Toph any time to actually answer her questions. "Lin is the result of a failed little fling that I never told you guys about. She is not, I repeat, _not_ Sokka's child." She hesitantly removed the hand from Katara's mouth, hovering until she was certain Katara wouldn't begin another tirade. When Katara didn't immediately start shouting, she retracted her arm completely, crossing her arms in front of her.

" _Now_ what am I supposed to do?" Katara asked, "I'm supposed to just, what, pretend I don't know that one of my best friends is pining after my annoying older brother?"

"Well, one, I'm not _pining_ over him, and two, you are way too drunk to remember any of this."

As if she were offended, Katara pulled her hand to her chest and gasped. "I am not!"

"Yes you are. In fact, I hope that I am as well. In the morning, you won't know what happened tonight past your fourth cup of moonshine."

"Oh yes I will!" Katara yelled just a little too loudly before storming off in the direction of her bedroom, slamming the door behind her as she went. Toph groaned and leaned back against the wall behind her, her head making an audible thump on the wall as she did. This night was quickly becoming a disaster, and to make matters worse Toph was beginning to feel dizzy, completely skewing her field of vision to where she didn't notice Sokka quietly walking into the house. She was about to slide down the wall and sit on the floor when Sokka's voice startled her.

"Hey, you guys alright?"

Toph jolted straight up and off the wall, only staying upright from Sokka catching her and holding her steady. Holy shit, her heart was beating out of her chest. Sokka's large hands held her firm, yet they were tender as he re-positioned her against the wall and lingered well past when she had regained her footing. She could feel her entire body heat up under his gaze and could tell that his body was doing the same.

"...Where'd Katara go?" Sokka asked, sounding like he sobered up under the tension of whatever little moment they were having.

"Her room, I think," Toph stammered. She didn't dare move, not because she feared Sokka would harm her with his intense grip, but because she feared she would be too turned on under that intense grip and climb him like a tree. "She's pissed."

"Why?"

Toph knew she shouldn't tell him but it slipped off her tongue regardless. "I said that she was so drunk that she wouldn't remember her question in the morning. I think it hurt her ego."

"Oh? Well then, maybe you should tell me the question. You know, for safe keeping," Sokka purred just a bit too close to her face. She could smell the faint hint of sea prunes on his hot breath and was surprised that she didn't find the scent disgusting when it came with the sound of his voice.

"I…"

"Yes?"

 _Oh, get it together, Toph!_ She yelled at herself, _You're acting like a total girl! Just because the guy you've wanted to fuck since you were teenagers has you pinned up against a wall doesn't mean you should act like a blubbering idiot._ Toph took a deep breath and tried to focus as she bumped up two small mounds of earth from the stone floor, hitting the balls of Sokka's feet and knocking him a couple of stumbling steps back. She quickly maneuvered away from the wall and skidded in the direction of her room, pin-balling between the corridors walls as she went.

"Hey!" Sokka called after her.

"I'm going to bed! Goodnight!" Toph shouted back. Before she knew it, Sokka was swooping up behind her frame and holding her straight by the undersides of her shoulders.

"At least let me at least help you to your room. You're as blind as a bat when you're drunk."

"I _said_ goodnight," Toph said as she grunted and squirmed her way out of his grip, dashing to her room as well as she could and slamming the door behind her.

What would happen in the morning? Of that, Toph wasn't sure. It would be one hell of a clean-up. But one thing was for certain: Toph would never drink that damned moonshine again.


	4. Distractions

Despite the fact that it was her day off and her body was in hell from the night before, Toph still woke at her usual time: the crack of dawn. She cursed her body's internal clock, considering she didn't even get to sleep off the worst part of her hangover. If she could see, her vision would for sure be spotty with the throbbing headache pinching either side of her forehead. Still keeping her face buried in the pillow, she reached behind her head and removed whatever pins and clips still remained in her mass of tangled hair, adding them to the pile that had fallen off in the night beside her on the mattress. Loosening her hair removed some of the pressure on her scalp, but not enough to make any significant difference.

 _Water,_ she thought, _that will help._ Toph wriggled herself in a feeble attempt to free her legs rom the twisted sheets, and eventually she was able to get her feet on the ground. She let out a hefty groan as she tried to stand; her vertigo was making it impossible to see a damn thing. Her hands began on their quest to find the nearest wall with her feet following closely behind. Once there, she tracked the wall until she found a door, although she wasn't certain if it was to the bathroom or hallway. As she stepped through the door frame her calloused feet met the carpet-or rather, the _edge_ of the carpet. The vibrational echo that came from her entire body weight slamming on the floor was strong enough to push through her headache, meaning that she could actually _see_ her own failure. The temptation to stay exactly where she was, face-down in defeat in the middle of a hallway, was excruciatingly high. Nevertheless, this hangover was going to persist for quite some time, so she might as well get a head start on treating the symptoms.

She forced herself to stand against the seemingly tripled force of gravity and backtracked, carefully finding the door as she went and closing it. A quick pivot to the left and she was facing the bathroom door, or at least where she remembered it should be. She bent over the sink and drank straight from the faucet in such an ungraceful way that she was sure she looked like a dehydrated horse, but when she was practically dying from last night's mistake it was hard to give a fuck.

After drinking her fill, Toph regained some of her sight and was able to make her way back into the bed. Whatever happened the night before, it must have been fun, because to cause _this_ bad of a hangover required an exorbitantly high volume of liquor. That moonshine was truly something else. The last thing Toph could remember was talking a little too mushy with Sokka by the fire. After that, it was all a blur.

A quick rap at the door caught Toph's attention. Who would be up this early? "Come in," she called, and the door creaked open. With her feet off the ground she had no way of telling the guest, so she just sat, patiently waiting for them to speak.

"Hey," a deep voice grumbled, "are you okay? I heard a loud thud just a minute ago."

Toph rubbed her face in embarrassment. "Yeah, Sokka, I'm fine. It's easy to trip over things when you're hungover and blind."

Sokka laughed softly at Toph's expense, and she joined in with a self-deprecating chuckle. "Well, if you're hungry, I know where Katara hides the bacon. Aang may be a vegetarian, but she sure as hell isn't. We can fry some up to expedite these hangovers."

"You don't have to ask me twice," Toph said enthusiastically, but that energy was soon quenched as she plopped to the floor and felt her world spin. She framed her face with her hands in an attempt to stabilize her mind. "Fuck…" she murmured, "I'm so dizzy, I can hardly see." It would take more than the water she just drank to reverse the damage she did the night before.

Toph then felt the rough texture of one of Sokka's hands slip into one of her own with a firm grip. "Then let me guide you," Sokka said, "don't want you waking up the rest with another tumble."

With the risk of her voice cracking, Toph settled for just nodding in agreement. Sokka led her to the kitchen and escorted her to a dining chair just beside the kitchen island. She stayed seated while Sokka went ahead and rummaged in the depths of an ice box, pulling out a small paper package of salted bacon. As he set out the pan for preheating, Toph grumbled in pain as her head rested between her propped-up elbows. "You doing alright over there?" Sokka asked.

"No."

"I would assume so," Sokka teased. "You drank a lot last night."

"Well I wouldn't know, considering I can't remember a thing."

Sokka stayed quiet for a suspicious pause. "Really? Not a single thing?"

"No… why? What happened?" She asked hesitantly. What possible shenanigans could she have gotten into during her first drunk outing in forever?

"Why, Toph, I'm hurt you don't remember," Sokka sighed dramatically with a bat of his eyelashes, "We laid beneath the open, starry sky and made the most beautiful love that the Spirits have ever had the pleasure of witnessing." His poetic monologue only ceased when an orange from the dining table basket came lunging toward his face, barely skimming by and exploding on the wooden cabinet. "Easy, Toph, you're gonna break something. I'm only joking," he sniggered.

"Then tell me what _really_ happened," Toph demanded indignantly, hiding her blushing face from his view. "I'll bet you caused trouble. You always do."

"And the pot calls the kettle black. It was you," Sokka said with a point of his wooden tongs toward the culprit.

"Don't blame me, blame my drunk alter ego. What did she get into? Did she ruin some Airbender relic from Aang's collection? Because I don't have the money to repay that type of debt again."

"Oh, no, nothing like that. No property damage this time. Emotional damage, however…" Sokka trailed off as he laid a piece of bacon on the pan with a sizzle.

"Well, isn't that my specialty?" Toph joked. "Who do I have to apologize to?

"You might not have to apologize at all. If you have no memory of last night then Katara won't either. We'll keep it our little secret," He said with wink.

Ah, of course it was Katara. As much as they had all grown up in the past two and a half decades, Katara was definitely still the mother of the group, and that meant unwanted reprimanding with the subsequent lashing out by the proxy children. _Whatever it was, it probably wasn't my fault._ "That's nice and all, but it can't be _our_ secret if I don't know what the hell happened." Instead of explaining, Sokka continued with his cooking, humming a little tune to himself as he flipped the bacon. "Well? You gonna tell me or not?"

"Oh, don't look at me. I don't even know what happened. You see, we were playing this little drinking game, where you have to whisper a question to another person and they answer the question aloud without any context. Quite fun, actually, I'd like to play it again some time. The issue is that, when Katara whispered a little query into your ear, I didn't get to hear it. Your answer came as quite a shock to her, and her little tantrum ended the night. You refused to tell me the question, so I'm afraid you have your 'alter ego' to blame," Sokka explained with a shrug. He plated the bacon and brought it over to the table, where the two ravenously scarfed it down in a single breath. The grease and acidity almost had an instant effect on Toph's headache, and she sighed with relief as her hangover began to melt away.

"That hits the spot," she breathed, and Sokka grunted in agreement, his mouth still full. They ate in silence and, when Toph was done, she made her way to the kettle to start some water for tea. "What was my answer?"

"Hm?" Sokka hummed, still intently focused on his bacon.

"To that question, the one that pissed off Katara. What was my answer?"

"Oh," Sokka said with a smirk, "it was my name."

* * *

"Now remember, everyone, keep an eye out for _this_ man," Toph announced as she gestured to her assistant holding up a wanted poster. "As long as one of you can spot him, I'll be able to keep track of him, and together we can place him under arrest and safely in police custody."

Her troop of around a dozen officers all murmured in agreement. There was a city-wide manhunt out on a new criminal in town, and the station had gotten tipped off that he might strike in the shops along the southern coast. As soon as the announcements were completed, they would all be heading out together to check out the scene and, hopefully, find this man and end his little crime spree. "I've gotten word that he's dangerous and not afraid to fight back. We're unsure if he's a bender, but keep your wires close at hand, just in case."

And with that, they were off. With the entirety of the officers hidden in civilian clothes, their coils of wire concealed in small leather satchels, they found a tea shop with outdoor seating to sit and observe the street. They were in the heart of the southern docks and it was bumbling with business and chatter. With the war's anniversary coming soon, the people were feeling more sociable and celebratory. Little children were laughing in the streets as they played some sort of new marble game. The strays in the area were the most happy, since they were getting far more scraps of food than before. A fluffy cat rubbed on Toph's leg and she pet it apologetically for not having any food to give.

Since Toph would need to wait until the cue of one of her officers, she took the opportunity to let her mind wander. What kind of mayhem did she cause that night with her friends? All she knew was that Katara didn't like Sokka being the answer to a question, one that no matter how much energy she put into racking her mind she couldn't remember. With Katara's dramatics, it could have been asking Toph to pick her favorite of the two Southern Water Tribe siblings. Yes, of course, that had to be it. What else could it have possibly been?

Suddenly, Toph felt a commotion in the back room of a nearby furniture shop. "Shao," she said, tugging on her neighboring officer's sleeve, "go check out that shop. I think there's an… altercation."

The man's stern face nodded before he made his way to the shop, Toph's seismic eye following closely behind. She had one hand in her satchel, ready to storm her way in should the situation escalate. _This is it_ , she thought, _this jackass will finally be caught._ It would add to her long list of accomplishments as Chief, but more importantly it would put the citizens out of harm's way. There had been deaths at the hands of this man's crimes. Only one or two, but still, Toph couldn't help but kick herself for being unable to protect them.

As she 'watched' from afar, she had to admit that she was slightly disappointed when her officer returned, informing her that one of the stacks of chairs had just toppled over and made of a mess of the shop's stock room. "You all keep on the lookout," she ordered, "I'm headed to the restroom."

Toph made her way through the inside portion of the tea shop and down a small back corridor that led to the unisex restroom. A man was exiting at the same time she neared the door. _Perfect timing._ Except that, as she tried to brush past him, he grabbed her by the upper arms and slammed her against the wall.

"Hey!" She shouted instinctively, but then she was suddenly flooded with glimpses of her drunken memories. She had felt the rough hands of a man holding her against a wall before, and remembered the shocking pulse it had sent through her body. "Sokka…?" She murmured, allowing herself to fold slightly in his grip.

"You think I wouldn't notice the famous Toph Beifong staking out my turf?" That grizzly voice definitely did not belong to Sokka, but before Toph could regain her mental footing she felt the ripping pain of a blade stabbing her abdomen. Her legs collapsed under her as she held pressure to the wound, and the man sped away-or, at least, made it down the corridor before she whipped out a metal cord to ensnare his ankles, sending him straight to the ground in the view of all the patrons in the shop.

Toph heard a few shrieks and calls for help at the sight of what was most likely her blood on her attacker. Her officers rushed in and placed him under arrest, while one traced the metal cord back to Toph and found her bleeding on the floor. They were able to control her bleeding long enough for her to get to the local healer. As she stumbled in leaning on the arms of her comrades, the healer sent her assistant to air temple island. "We'll need a _true_ healer," she instructed the young girl. She quickly discarded the soaked rag and began to apply a paste of different herbs to the wound.

"How you holding up, Chief?" One of her lead officers said as he anxiously drummed his fingers on his knees.

"Fucking fantastic. And quit doing that," Toph snipped, swatting at his hands. The movement tugged at her wound and she groaned in pain. The healer chastised her for doing so and continued on with her work.

After what felt like a lifetime, a familiar face walked in the door. "Oh my god, Toph," Katara said as she flocked to her friend's side. "What did you do this time?"

"Oh, shush, I'm fine. I could probably walk home," Toph said as she attempted to stand, only for everyone surrounding her to object and attempt to hold her down. "Spirits, fine, I get it. No standing."

"You're a piece of work, you know that?" Katara said. "Miss, could you get me the most sacred water you have? It doesn't have to be spirit water, just something that didn't come out of a muddy well."

The young assistant nodded and swiftly exited the room.

"I've managed to stop the bleeding with pressure and herbs, but the wound is rather deep," the healer explained to Katara.

"Thank you so much for what you've done so far. Toph, what happened?"

"What does it look like? I got stabbed. Pretty straight-forward if you ask me."

"We were staking out undercover," an officer interjected, "we got word that there would be another attack by whoever has been robbing stores throughout the city."

"Well I sure hope it was worth it," Katara said, frustration laced in her voice.

"Of course it was," Toph said, "We caught him, that's all that matters."

"No, that's not all that matters. You have a kid at home, Toph! What would Lin do if you just didn't come home from work one day?"

"Don't you bring Lin into this," Toph snapped. She loved Lin with all of her heart, she would never intentionally put herself in harm's way. Besides, Lin had tons of family that care for and support her, including Katara and Aang. They were practically her family. If for some god-forsaken reason Toph left this world earlier than intended, Lin would not be alone.

Luckily, before an argument could ensue, the healer's assistant return with forest stream water, which seemed to be up to Katara's standards. She was able to heal the wound, but it took time and a significant amount of pain. By the time she finished Toph thought she might pass out-not that she would admit that aloud. There was a large, irritated scar leftover, which Katara said would need repeat healing to reduce and ensure nothing internally pops open. She offered to pick Lin up from school so that Toph could rest at home in peace, and although Toph felt uneasy about leaving Lin with the news of her injury without showing her in person that her mom would be alright, she agreed.

The next morning, Toph was incredibly grateful for Katara's offer. A good night's sleep rejuvenated her and she felt ready for the day. The criminal was going to be interrogated today and she couldn't wait to jump in on the action.

Except that, when she walked into police headquarters, she was greeted with awkward silence and palpable tension in the room.

"C-chief," her administrative assistant stammered, "good morning. May I, ah, asked what you're doing here?"

"What are you talking about? I'm here for work. You think the chief would take a day off work?" Toph strutted through the main space into her office and sat down at her desk. Her assistant hesitantly walked through the door, accompanied by the Deputy Chief of Police. "Well? Are you going to come help me complete this paperwork, or leave a poor, blind girl defenseless?"

The assistant cowardly backed out of the room and closed the door behind her as the Deputy stepped forward. "Chief, please understand that all of us here at police headquarters admire and respect you. Hell, you're a hero to most of us. I can't imagine a better person holding this position-"

"Get on with the flattery," Toph said with a wave of her hand, "I can tell you're about to deliver some bad news. So, pick up the pace."

The Deputy cleared his throat before continuing. "We just don't understand why you haven't taken any of your collected medical leave. I mean, from the report of yesterday's incident, it seems as though you would need at least a week to recover."

Toph let out a laugh, concealing the pain it caused her wound. "I'm fine, but thank you for the concern. I don't need it! Katara used her magical water powers and fixed me. I'm brand new."

"I don't think it's that simple. A wound of that severity…"

"Deputy, do you see any blood gushing out of my stomach right now? Hmm? If I say I'm fine, then I'm fine. You're not in a position to question my personal medical decisions."

The Deputy paused before continuing once again. "Actually, Chief, that's where you're wrong. With the unanimous approval of the executive staff I can initiate a forced medical leave of absence."

Toph's face froze as she took in the words. "Is that a threat?"

"No, Chief. If it's in your best interest that you leave to _recover_ from a _stab wound_ , then it's within my power to-"

"Of fuck off about your power!" Toph shouted as she violently stood from her seat, ignoring the sharp pain in her abdomen. "I'm the Chief of Police, damn it! I brought my metalbending recruits to this city and completely turned around this department. I shouldn't be questioned like this!"

"Chief, please, if you'll just consider-"

"No, no, you know what? I'll take your stupid medical leave. But just know this, Deputy: I hope you enjoy every minute of your last week of employment." Toph stomped her way out of the building, making sure everyone saw just saw how irate she was, and made her way back home.

"I'm the fucking Chief!" Toph howled in the privacy of her own bedroom.

She practically threw her metal gear back into her closet as she changed. As she grabbed her undershirt to exchange it for a more comfortable, loose-fitting one, she was surprised to find the material wet and quickly realized that her wound was bleeding. "Shit," she murmured as she bundled up the fabric and held it with pressure to her stomach. It was already ruined with blood, she may as well take advantage of it.

How did she even let this happen? She had never allowed someone to hurt her this badly while on the job. Even when cornered like that, she has always escaped unscathed. How did this man, this _one man_ , manage to cause her such a bad injury that she was dismissed on medical leave?

Toph then flashed back to the sensation of being grabbed and held, and when her groin tingled she knew exactly why. She had been turned on! Despite it being a criminal, she had remembered Sokka's touch and became distracted long enough to be literally stabbed. "Mother fucker!" She shrieked as she punched a pillow with her free hand. Thank the Spirits Lin was at school, she couldn't imagine trying to reign in her current rage.

After around 30 minutes, her wound had temporarily closed and the bleeding had stopped. Instead of trekking all the way to air temple island, Toph decided to take a nap in the hopes that she would awaken with a perfectly healed and functional body. That obviously wasn't going to happen, but a girl can dream. Besides, she had all the time in the world to nap now that she wasn't going to work for the next week.


	5. Find A Remedy

Toph laid in her bed with the urge to toss and turn restlessly, only staying still to prevent another difficult load of blood-soaked laundry. She had woken up at her normal time well before sunrise, but today she didn't have anywhere to go. With her inferiors essentially barricading her out of the station for what she felt was a ridiculous excuse about caring for her "well being and recovery," she had no reason to even get out of bed this early, despite every habitual urge telling her that she had to walk out the door before the first bird began to chirp. Those assholes at the station didn't know the first thing about her. Had any of them heard about the time she dug her way through a mountain with burned feet until she found camp? Not to mention she was hardly a teenager. For them to think she couldn't go back to work after a simple stab wound was absurd. Even Zuko didn't order her around like that, and he actually _did_ have that authority. Not that she would take it without a few sassy comments, but still, she would still respect it. _This_ , however, was flat-out mutiny!

She stayed in her bed, refusing to move out of pure spite (and maybe a little pain) until she heard the sounds of nature waking up outside her window. It was time for Lin to get up and start her day, and for once Toph would be there to help. Shia was also there, of course, but Toph rarely got this time with her daughter. Last week was the first time she'd spent a breakfast with Lin in weeks and, aside from the bombshell regarding Lin's school peers, it was extremely pleasant and one of the better parts of her day - no, week, at least. With all the time they'll be spending together this upcoming week, she'll probably accumulate enough positive energy to last until retirement.

Toph stepped out of her bed, moving cautiously to preserve the wound's clotting, and made her way to Lin's room. She awoke the little girl with a stroke of through the bedhead, getting her fingers caught in the process. She didn't mind; Lin would soon grow to care for her appearance like most girls and take the time to detangle her coarse locks every morning. Or, unlike most girls, she wouldn't give a flying fuck about her looks and spend that time more productively, like training. If her genetics held up then it would be the latter. And let's face it, who would chastise the blind mom for not brushing her daughter's hair?

Lin stirred with that small, squeaky noise that most children made when waking. "Hi, mommy," she mumbled.

"Hey, bud. Time to wake up." Rather than get out of bed, Lin decided to snuggle a little more soundly into her pillow, peeking at her mom to see what may come next. "You better hurry, before… the tickle monster comes and gets 'ya!" Toph dove down and captured Lin in a barrage of tickles, which swept her sleepiness away as she filled the room with laughter. Lin kicked and flailed in an attempt to free her limbs from the comforter while simultaneously wiggling further away from Toph's grasp. By the time Lin had gotten herself out of the bed she was panting.

"Ah, foiled again!" Toph exclaimed dramatically with a lift of her wrist to her forehead and a flop backwards onto the bed. "I've been outsmarted again by the brave and powerful Lin Beifong!" That last syllable came out as a forced exhale, for as she was finishing the sentence her innocent little girl had leapt onto her stomach. She hadn't expected the pained yelp that escaped her.

"Mommy?" Lin asked as she scrambled hastily off of Toph. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

"You? Hurt me? Not possible," Toph falsely reassured her daughter as she pushed herself upright by her elbows.

"But I did! I did hurt you! I'm so sorry!" Lin whimpered. Normally when feeling guilty Lin would cling to Toph in a hug, but this time she kept her distance. Toph then realized the one thing that would Lin keep off of her. Sure enough, a second later she felt a trickle of blood slide down her stomach.

"Shit," Toph muttered quietly and gripped her wound. Lin shouldn't be a wuss when it comes to blood, but to see your mother bleeding first thing in the morning? Likely to cause a bit of trauma. "No, Lin, you didn't do this, don't worry. Shia!"

The woman rushed into the room.

"Please take care of… this," Toph instructed vaguely. When Shia reached for Toph her hand was swatted away. "Not me! Spirits, don't you think I can handle myself? I meant Lin, you know, the one I pay you to watch? Get her ready for school."

Toph quickly exited the room, leaving her distressed daughter behind and in the safe hands of someone who actually knew what to do. Few things flustered her, and being in a new parenting situation was one of them. She knew from the beginning that she would raise her daughter to be tough, but how does one go about doing that without hurting them? Toph only became who she is because of shitty parents pushing her into the arms of literal animals. That probably wasn't the best approach. As she stripped off yet another blood-stained shirt she ran through all the things she could tell Lin. _Mommy just got into a little accident._ No, Lin was inquisitive, she would ask for more details. _I got stabbed at work._ That's worse!

She continued trying to think of things to say to Lin while en route to Air Temple Island until ultimately deciding to just ask Katara for advice. Besides, there would be plenty of time to talk while Katara worked her magic. It took a long time after knocking for the door to open. Katara looked frazzled. "Toph!" she exclaimed, "I wasn't expecting you! Now isn't exactly a, uh, great time. What do you need?"

Toph held up the bloody shirt in a self-explanatory manner. Katara simply nodded and gestured for Toph to follow her inside.

Toph followed the frantic mother down the hall and past a room filled with the loud noises of children playing. The home was messier than usual. There were large splotches of water on various walls and lots of knocked-over objects, including furniture and decorations alike. Toph was doing a good job at avoiding the mess until a gust of wind hit her from the side, which caused her to stumble and end up stepping on a piece of broken pottery, cutting the bottom of her foot.

Katara spun at the sound of Toph's surprised cry, and when she saw the broken vase she nearly exploded with pent-up rage. "That's it!" She yelled and stormed into the living room containing her little angels. They went dead silent at the sound of their impending doom. "I have had it up to _here_ with you all. You're supposed to be getting ready for school!"

"Kya started it," Bumi said, triggering Kya to bicker back in self-defense. Katara grabbed either side of her head and groaned.

"Stop it! I don't care who started it! You all know better than to behave like this. Leave the mess alone and finish getting ready for school. You can spend all evening cleaning the entire house, top to bottom. Oh, and I'm taking away your bending privileges for the day!"

"But dad told us we shouldn't ever be ashamed of our bending!" Kya insisted defiantly.

"And we could clean faster if we bent," Tenzin chimed in, "Sissy could wash things and I could dry them."

"Yeah, what Tenzin said. You know, dad would _never_ tell us not to bend. In fact, I think he would encouraging us to bend as much as possible."

"Well your dad's not here, is he?" Katara said, "and _I_ think he would agree with whatever I say. Do I make myself clear?"

Bumi swaggered over to his mom's side and reassuringly patted her arm. "Don't worry, mom, I won't disobey you." Katara swatted the back of his head.

"Don't be a smart aleck. Go get ready. _Now_." She then stormed out of the room. Toph just shrugged at the kids and followed their fuming mother to the back of the house, where Katara had an at-home healing suite all prepared with specially imported healing objects from the North and South Poles alike, including a small, crystal vase of water from the spirit oasis. Katara chose a stone barrel of North Pole glacier water and set it next to the bamboo reiki table. "Lay down, and be careful not to re-open the wound," she instructed.

"A little too late for that," Toph joked as she sat on the edge of the table and kicked up her heels. "Would now be a good time to tell you it popped open last night _and_ again this morning?"

"Are you serious? Why didn't you come to me last night?"

"Hey, I handled it! It eventually stopped bleeding."

Katara had to stop gathering her supplies to take a deep breath and settle herself down. "Toph, can you just behave for like, 5 minutes?"

Toph saluted Katara sarcastically and laid herself flat on the table. Katara gently pulled up Toph's shirt, careful not to tear any skin that had adhered to the fabric with dried blood, and begun to dab off the blood and clots with a damp rag. She tended to the wound gently and delicately. Even after all these years Toph wasn't used to Katara's soft, maternal moments. It reminded her of a time long ago when her own mother would spend an hour or so brushing her hair dry after a bath. There was an unspoken, familial love that came with the simple act of taking care of another person. Perhaps that was why Lin was so dead-set on caring for her; that little girl was filled to the brim with love, a concept so foreign to Toph that she was sure it hadn't come from her. Kanto would have done a good job nurturing this love, but it was too late for that now. He was long gone, having moved out of Republic City before Toph had even begun to show. Now, Toph didn't need a man to help her raise her own daughter, but it would sometimes be nice to have another person around to catch her mistakes. Then again, that was one of Katara's jobs.

Katara switched from the rag to the water, bending a small stream over her hands and settling them on Toph's stomach. The sensation quickly went from cold to burning as Katara's bending coaxed the skin and muscles back together.

"It's not too bad," Katara observed, "you only opened some of the superficial scar tissue. It'll only take 5 minutes to fix. You're lucky, you could have done a lot worse."

"I'm not lucky, I'm talented," Toph quipped. There was a short silent between the two. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"I get the feeling you're going to anyway, so go ahead."

"No, it's kind of serious," Toph said, sensing Katara's sour mood. "I need some advice."

Katara became genuinely concerned. It would usually take something detrimental for Toph to admit that she needed anybody's help or input. When it came to Lin, Toph would do anything.

"How do you do it? Be a mom, I mean." Her voice was quieter, more unsure. "I feel like I just keep fucking up. I'm failing my own daughter, and it's gonna be my fault that she has issues in the future, I know it."

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Katara said, "what happened that makes you think that?"

Toph hesitated. "Well, there's a few things."

"Just give me an example."

"It wasn't actually me that opened up my wound this morning. Lin had jumped on my stomach like she's done a million times before. She got frightened by the blood, and what did I do? Called Shia in to the room and left. I had no idea what to say. I had planned this whole morning with Lin before she went off to school, but panicked as soon as my plan deviated. What kind of mother does that?"

"A lot of them," Katara joked as she bent the remaining water down the drain beside her feet and turned to pick up bandages and a paste consisting of various herbs.

" _You_ wouldn't have. You guys are basically the definition of a perfect family."

Katara snorted aloud. "Are you serious? Did you notice the scene you walked into?" With almost perfect timing, a loud _thunk_ came from down the hall and it took practically all of Katara's willpower not to spontaneously combust. "Look, I know you're extremely well aware of this fact, but I'm not perfect. In fact, I'm very overwhelmed. Was anyone even meant to have 3 children? I mean, seriously, I only have 2 hands! It doesn't help that Aang's hardly around to help out. Did you hear that little trick they tried to pull up there? Using Aang's docility against me? They're smart, too smart. They could easily overpower me if they settled their differences and formed an alliance."

"Not to say I don't love the topic of child politics, but that's a little tender right there," Toph pointed out. Katara had begun to apply the paste quite aggressively, causing Toph to flinch in pain.

"Right, sorry," Katara mumbled, "look, you may not have made the best call this morning, but not every choice you make is going to be the right one. We're moms, sure, but we're also people, and we're allowed to make mistakes."

"It's not just this morning," Toph said, frustrated, "it's all the time." She bit her lip while debating what to say next. She had so much she wanted to vent about, but Katara wouldn't understand - at least, maybe not in her current state of mind. From the way she was talking it sounded more as though she were reassuring herself rather than Toph. Besides, Katara wouldn't even have the slightest idea on how to parent a bullied child. In fact, she might chastise Toph for not catching it sooner. None of her children were as innocent as Lin except for Tenzin, who was unfortunately being mentored in the ways of mischief by his siblings. They would never get caught in the direct line of fire. Lin was strong but sensitive. To survive in this world she would need to toughen up, build walls that would prevent her from ever being a victim. But how was Toph supposed to do this?

She was snapped out of deep thought by a sudden tickle on her foot. A surprised laugh escaped her and she flinched her foot away. "What are you doing?!"

"Chill the fuck out," Katara reprimanded, "I was fixing the cut on the sole of your foot. I mean, unless you want to continue dragging blood all over my floors."

Toph begrudgingly laid back down and noticed that her stomach wound had finished being cleaned and wrapped up while she was distracted. "It's your kids' fault," she mumbled and was quickled hit with an ice cold pain shooting up her leg.

"Oops," Katara said, smirking, and continued with her healing at a more reasonable temperature. The leftover scar tissue felt weird, pink and soft in the middle of a large surface of discolored calluses, and made the most minute vibrations much more intense. Hopefully it would turn into yet another callus soon. As the pair walked back into the living space of the house, Toph heard Katara sigh and start lecturing her children on the importance of folding their uniforms properly in order to prevent wrinkles. Toph showed herself out.

She decided to take her time on the commute back home. The ferry ride from the island dropped her off at the docks, and the path home went right through the heart of the shopping district. Toph passed many vendors trying to sell her various items. Before she was well known around the city she could pass as the poor blind girl that obviously couldn't read the signs, let alone purchase anything on her own, but now she couldn't use that excuse. While waving them away her attention was caught by someone with an odd voice trying to sell her a single head of cabbage. "Only the best for the chief of police," the familiar voice advertised, "this head of cabbage was blessed by the Avatar himself!"

She just had to stop and humor this man. "You know I'm friends with the Avatar, right?"

"Ah, yes, yes, that is true, but has he ever blessed one of your cabbages?"

Toph hesitated, unsure if the man was being serious but curious anyway. "...I guess I can't say he has?"

"Oh ho! Then this will be an invaluable addition to your kitchen. The cost is only one bottle of South Pole moonshine."

She smacked Sokka's arm once the connection finally clicked. "Dude! How often are you going to pull shit like that?!"

"Until it stops working," he laughed, his voice no longer warped in disguise. "Wait, so does that mean you don't want the cabbage?"

"Fuck no, who even likes cabbage?"

"Probably the merchant I swiped this from," Sokka said with a wink.

Toph took the head of cabbage from him and began to toss it back and forth between her hands like a sport ball as she walked down the path ahead of him. "You're lucky I'm not Katara, otherwise you'd be getting a firm talking to about the moral and economical implications of shoplifting."

"Yeah, that would be a little awkward if you were my sister." Toph turned around inquisitively and met Sokka's face snapping up to meet her gaze.

"And what is that supposed to mean, mister councilman?" She could have almost sworn she heard a fluster in Sokka's voice as he muttered something about being an adult that doesn't need to hear lectures about his behavior. She laughed and playfully tossed him the cabbage. "What are you up to in the shopping district, anyway? Aren't you supposed to be working, you know, like an adult?"

"I could ask the same of you. I decided to take the day off. The other councilmembers are stuffy, so I try not to stay around them too long in case they rub off on me. What about you? Since when does the Chief of Police take time off of work?"

"Oh, don't get me started," Toph groaned. "I had no say in the matter. _Apparently,_ being Chief doesn't mean you have more authority than your officers."

"Well for you to be kicked out of work must mean you did something really shitty. Who did you hurt?"

Toph popped a hip and crossed her arms. "What makes you think it isn't the other way around?"

Sokka fell silent. "What? Did someone do something to you?"

"Katara didn't tell you?"

"No, we don't see each other every day," he stammered out, "Toph, tell me what happened."

"Relax, it's nothing serious. I just got hurt on the job. It comes with the responsibilities of being in the police force." This wasn't a complete lie. As criminals in the city began to rally themselves, more of her officers were being honorably discharged every day. Their numbers were dwindling, and with word spreading of the dangers of working in the field it was becoming difficult to recruit new officers. What's worse, it was rare enough to find metalbenders let alone spend however many years necessary training them to police force standards. Luckily none of her metalbenders had been discharged, but she also didn't have any in training. It was a little stressful, to say the least. She was never destined for administrative work. But what was she supposed to do when she was the only metalbending teacher in the world?

Sokka shook his head. "No, you're lying to me. You're not allowed back at work, yeah? That means you were put on medical leave, and _forcibly_ at that. You were obviously significantly injured or your officers wouldn't have fought you on this."

Damn, he's smart. Maybe he's qualified as a councilman after all.

Sighing, Toph grabbed Sokka's arm and pulled him into a side alley. She then took off her shirt, leaving only her chest bindings, and began to unwrap the cotton dressing from around her stomach and used the fabric to wipe away the damp herbs. Katara had told her to leave the remedial paste on for as long as possible to reduce the scar's size, but Toph didn't care. As long as she wasn't actively bleeding she was alright. All that was left was her scar. Due to the size of the original wound and the nature of her porcelain skin, the scar had formed a thick, raised keloid, probably due to Toph's constant re-opening of the tissue. Of course, she couldn't see how gnarly it looked, but it left Sokka in stunned silence. "Katara's been healing it. Like I said, not a big deal."

"If my sister's been healing you then it must have looked horrific at first," Sokka said quietly. "Spirits, Toph, how did this happen?"

"We were staking out a scene with some officers and I was caught off guard while alone. He stabbed me."

"How did you… I mean, this is…" Sokka couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence. His thoughts kept getting derailed by the sight of Toph's scar. Knowing him, he must have been imagining how deep the wound went and how much blood she lost at the scene, which was admittedly a lot. She felt drowsy that evening but didn't dare vocalize it to anyone.

Something about the way Sokka was panicking at the thought of her getting hurt made Toph feel both flattered as well as the need to comfort him. "Look," she started. He stopped his stammering when she took his hand and brought it to her stomach, flattening his palm against the scar. It was tender to touch but the pain was drowned out by the spark she felt between them. "I came out in one piece, see? He didn't cut me in half. Besides, we survived a war, I don't think one dude with a knife is gonna bring me down."

There was a tense silence between them. Toph had left her hand over his as she spoke, and now her heart was tempted to intertwine their fingers. The ragged breathing she could hear from both of them made her realize how close their faces were. It seemed like a perfect opportunity… but for what? This was Sokka, one of her best friends of 25 years. If anything was going to happen it would have happened by now. He obviously viewed her as a strictly platonic friend; he probably even considered her to be one of his 'bros.' That, more than anything else, frustrated her. Just because she was a tough, unapologetic woman didn't mean she should be considered a man. She was still as much of a woman as anyone else with a vagina. In fact, she had given birth to a beautiful daughter, something that she doubted any man would be able to physically endure.

Suddenly, Toph became acutely aware that she was indecent from the waist up and in a very tight space with the man that she wanted to fuck. She cleared her throat and pulled Sokka's hand off of her stomach before putting her shirt back on. "I should get going," she said, "it's a bit of a walk back to my place."

Sokka finally regained his ability to speak. "Let me walk you back. It would look a little shitty if I let the blind girl walk home alone."

Toph couldn't suppress her smirk. "Fine."

They walked in silence for a minute or so before Sokka nudged her for her attention. "Did you at least catch the guy?"

"Of course I did."

"Then it was worth it."

Toph smiled. "I couldn't agree more."


	6. Earth-Shattering

Horrendously boring is how Toph would describe her week off from work. Sure, she got to spend plenty of time with her daughter, but there's only so much entertainment one can get from hanging out with a 5 year old girl. Lin was over the moon, as she never got to spend this much consecutive time with Toph. In retrospect that was a sad thing to hear, but Toph justified it by claiming a child shouldn't expect to spend every waking moment with their parent. It built character, being alone. Spirits know Toph had plenty of that.

When she finally got back to work, Toph was met with enough groveling that she decided against firing her second in command, especially since so much work had piled up that she would need someone reliable to help her. Citations, incident reports, internal investigations - she needed someone that knew her well enough to read aloud the bare minimum and summarize the document rather than read every individual word of each incredibly boring document. Toph's signature was worth a dime a dozen, as it was required on nearly every piece of paperwork located in the building (including the trash bins). It could take years for her to review every paper in its entirety. Even with this skimming, her efforts warranted many, many hours of overtime. Katara had graciously offered to keep Lin in her care, as a way of ensuring Lin didn't get too lonely with Shia; however, Lin still yearned for time with Toph, as shown by her defiance toward bedtime until she got to tell her mother good night. More often than not she would pass out on the couch awaiting Toph's return. "My sweet little badgermole," Toph would whisper tenderly as she carried the child to her room. Lin always slept like a rock but seemed to rest a little more soundly once she felt the embrace of her mother.

These late work nights continued for the next 2 weeks, and even then it could have gone on longer. It got to the point that Toph didn't see her daughter conscious for days in a row. Katara gave her a firm talking-to, saying something along the lines of neglect stunting Lin's emotional growth or whatever. Once Katara established a strict curfew there was no arguing nor negotiations. Toph was to leave work and pick up her daughter before sunset and that was that. The first day after receiving this curfew Toph begrudgingly set aside her remaining paperwork and made her way to air temple island.

When there was no answer at the front door, Toph knew they must be in the courtyard out back. She made her way through the house, front door unlocked, and felt the children playing amongst the stone patio. Bumi was brooding off in the corner, so she mischievously bumped up the earth beneath his feet and sent him falling backwards. The impact created a small cloud of dust around him. The rest of the children turned at the sound of Bumi's surprised cry, and almost instinctively Lin was aware of the culprit. "Mommy!" She yelled enthusiastically, both amused at her mother's prank and excited for her presence. Toph sauntered down the stairs and hugged her daughter.

"Mommy, I have something to show you -"

Lin was interrupted by Tenzin 'whooshing' over in a rush of air and quickly tapping her shoulder. "Tag!" He shouted as he ran away. Lin, conflicted, looked back and forth between her mom and her friend before ultimately being ushered back into the game by Toph. The little girl scurried away.

Katara made her way out of the house. "Oh, _there_ you are. I was in the bathroom when you knocked, but when I got to the door you weren't there."

Toph shrugged. "I got impatient. Besides, if you were here I wouldn't have been able to mess with Bumi."

An oddly hesitant look crossed Katara's face. Before she could comment, Toph was suddenly hit by a thrown rock. Bumi glowered at the chief of police, standing where he had fallen just moments ago. "How does that feel, huh? Getting hit with a rock? How do _you_ like it?"

Toph casually brushed off the dirt from her arm, unshaken by the hit. "I've had worse, buddy."

"Don't call me that!" He screamed back. "I'm not your 'buddy.' I'm Bumi, son of Avatar Aang and future commander of the United Forces!"

Toph deliberately turned to face Bumi head-on. "And I'm the world's only blind earthbender, first metalbender, and not to mention the chief of police."

Bumi had tears in his eyes as he continued to stand his ground. "You're all the same! You benders think you're better than everyone else just because you can move things with your mind. Normal people don't have magic powers, you're all just _freaks_!"

"Bumi!" Katara finally intervened, "That's enough. Take yourself inside until you can calm down."

Bumi stormed past his mother with more attitude than Toph thought possible from simply walking. He slammed the back door shut behind him, to which Katara sighed.

"I'm sorry, Toph. He shouldn't have said those things."

"Katara, I really don't care… but I thought you would," Toph remarked, curious.

"I know, I know. It was completely unacceptable behavior."

"Then why did you allow it?"

Katara shifted uncomfortably. "What do you mean?"

"I _mean,_ you let that go on for an awfully long time. You normally aren't shy with reprimanding your children in front of me."

"Are you questioning my parenting choices?"

Toph chuckled. "Sugar queen, you know that's not what I meant. Why are you acting so weird?"

Katara ruffled her own hair distractedly and tried to walk past Toph. "Look, Bumi's just in a weird mood today, I'm trying to take it easy on him."

Toph grabbed her by the arm, gentle enough to mean no disrespect but firm enough to stop her in her tracks. "Katara." The mother of 3 refused to look at her. "You're hiding something."

Katara glanced at the children, sighed, and finally spoke. "Bumi is feeling extra upset about being a nonbender today. You know how I am regarding that topic. It's important to let him feel these emotions and process them, rather than keep them suppressed."

"And why couldn't you just tell me that?"

Katara stood and thought about her next words carefully. "I know you couldn't tell, but Bumi - in fact, all of the kids - got a lot of bruises today. That's what happens when you're hit with rocks multiple times. Toph, Lin can earthbend. She discovered that today."

Toph began to smile, proud of her daughter, before her rising grin was halted by a sudden realization. She had _missed_ Lin's first earthbending. With all the time Toph spent at work, this wasn't the first milestone she'd missed. Lin's first words, first steps, they all happened while either Shia or Katara was watching her. But her first time bending, that seemed so intimate and important to Toph. How could she have missed it?

"What about you? Did you miss it?" Toph asked through the lump in her throat.

"Miss what?"

"Your children's first bending."

Katara paused. "No, I didn't," she said delicately.

"And Aang?"

"He didn't either."

"That's what I thought." Toph said, and for the first time in her life she sounded defeated. "Thank you for telling me, Katara. I don't think I could have faked a good reaction if Lin told me."

Katara placed a hand on Toph's shoulder. "I know you're probably feeling a lot of emotions right now. But your daughter, your _only_ daughter, is about to rush over here and expect her mother, the world's most famous earthbender, to be ecstatic in finding out she can earthbend as well. Your reaction today is going to stick with her forever. Take whatever strength you can find, center yourself, and prepare to put on a happy face. You may have missed her first time ever earthbending, but you're about to see her first time earthbending for _you_. Try to focus on that aspect."

She was right. Even if it wasn't Lin's first time earthbending, Toph was about to experience it nonetheless. That didn't quell her heartbreak, but it was enough to regain her mental footing. She shook away the tears that had collected and stepped forward out of Katara's grasp.

"Lin!"

She girl stopped chasing her airbending friend and turned to her mom.

"You said you have something to show me?"

* * *

Toph felt as though she were walking through lard. The emotional weight of yesterday's discovery was still weighing heavily on her mind, and no matter how hard she tried it just wouldn't go away. It didn't help that the day consisted of meeting after boring meeting. How was she supposed to focus on this stupid shit? She was processing a life-shattering moment, couldn't she get some leeway?

Maybe the lack of leeway was the reason behind, well, everything. And it wasn't even her coworkers not granting her that leeway. No, it was herself. Even when it came to medical leave she was stubborn as a mule, refusing it until the last resort was utilized. As she dove deeper into her dark thoughts, more questions developed. Was it her fault she missed Lin's first earthbending? She did prioritize her work over her family?

Was she a good mother?

"Chief!" A voice demanding her attention snapped her back into reality. Toph had completely zoned out during a station-wide meeting regarding the city redistricting and its implication on the police force units. Granted, she would have spaced out regardless, but if she were in tip-top mental shape she would have been able to fake it.

"What?"

"You were asked your opinion regarding the new district 14, sector 3. Do you believe a special operations unit needs to be assigned to this sector? Sure, the crime rate in that sector is statistically significant, but before the redistricting it included a much larger area of an even more significant crime rate and all of its resources were never fully utilized. I believe that…"

Well, there she went again. The sound around her faded to nothing but a soft, ringing background noise, and she could almost swear her mind went gray. They weren't going to stop pressing the issue, but she could not get herself in focus. This was worthless. _She_ was worthless.

"I'm sorry, I…" She interrupted softly, which gathered more attention than when she spoke at full volume. The rest of her sentence dissipated into thin air, and before she could fade away again she forced herself to stand and walk out of the room - except that she didn't just stop at the room. Her body carried her away and out of the entire station, wandering down the streets of downtown Republic City blindly. She paid no mind to where she was headed and let her legs take her wherever they pleased. It allowed her mind to float alongside and avoid the deepest pits of her self-deprecation. Eventually, she came to a stop. Unsure of where she was, she scanned the area, detecting a small staircase leading up to the front door of a small yet upscale townhome. She immediately recognized where she was and made her way up to the door to place a gentle knock.

The door opened and there stood Sokka, confused by his unexpected guest. "Toph, hi there. You're lucky you caught me on my day off. How did you know I would be home?"

"I didn't," Toph said plainly, still in a daze.

Another moment of awkward silence.

"Would you… like to come in?"

Instead of answering, Toph pushed her way past him and inside his home. She then stood in the middle of the living room rather than take a seat.

"... Are you okay?"

When Toph didn't answer, Sokka took her by the shoulders and guided her to the couch. He sat next to her, one hand still on her shoulder, and was silent as he waited for her to speak.

"I don't know what's gonna happen," Toph started, "what I'll do, if I let myself feel."

"Feel what?" His hand began to softly rub her back. "Is this about your work injury?"

"No," she said, "no, it has nothing to do with that. It's Lin."

"Did Lin get hurt? Is she okay?"

"Not at all, she's… she's better than ever." A single tear spilled down her cheek and she angrily rubbed it away. "Fuck," she muttered as she stood, only to be met by Sokka rising alongside her and regaining a hold on her shoulders.

"Sit," he said firmly. "You came to me for a reason. Let me hear you out."

"I need to piss!" She lied. When Sokka didn't fall for it, she huffed and plopped back down on the couch. While she sat there like a child in time-out, Sokka stayed silent, opting to wait for her to speak first rather than press the issue. Eventually she became uncomfortable with the silence and decided to speak - again.

"I know I'm not the best mom," Toph started. Her words were slow, almost as though she were piecing her sentences together as the words came out of her mouth. "I throw myself into my work and keep really busy. Lin hasn't been raised with anything else, so she doesn't question it, and she doesn't really fight to change it. She just… accepts me for who I am, and enjoys whatever time she gets from me. It's unfair for her to be so mature at such a young age."

She paused and waited for Sokka to throw in some sarcastic comment, but he stayed quiet, silently urging her to continue.

"I guess it's because she's turned out so well that I haven't made the effort to change. Sure, she may be happier if she got more of my attention, but it hasn't hindered her so far, so I haven't even considered spending more time at home. But something's happened…" Toph laughed at herself. "I'm such a terrible mom. The thing that happened didn't harm her in the slightest. No, it harmed _me_ , and that's why I'm in such a funk."

"And what exactly happened?" Sokka asked softly.

Toph fiddled with her thumbs and stared down at the floor. "Lin can earthbend, now."

"Well that's great! She's taken after her amazing mother," Sokka said endearingly, but Toph stayed silent. "It is a great thing, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's a _wonderful_ thing, and that shows just how good of a person you are, Sokka. Your first instinct was to be happy about this huge milestone. Me? Well, let's just say I had a different reaction."

Toph hesitated to continue. _Spirits, what's happened to me?_ She thought, exasperated. She couldn't give a damn what anyone else thought of her. She'd beaten men senseless just for the fun of showing them up, acted as the ruthless chief of police without even a shred of remorse. How is it that she couldn't bear to let Soka see this side of her, this selfish side of her motherhood?

Sokka shuffled closer to her and grabbed her hand, stopping the anxious fiddling she was doing. "Toph, I'm sure there's nothing you could have done to make you a 'bad mom.' I _know_ you, good and bad, and can say that you're one of the most incredible women in my life. Just tell me."

And then there were tears. Back in her childhood, Toph told herself she wouldn't cry in front of anyone. If she showed even the smallest sign of weakness, others would prey upon her, take advantage of her sadness to use it against her. After all, that's what her parents did. Why would they let their sad, blind little girl take earthbending lessons? How could she handle that type of rigor if she couldn't handle her emotions? Time and time again, Toph had to prove herself as being capable of earthbending, yet no matter how long she went without crying her parents always saw her as the feeble little girl they once witnessed. Through this, she had trained her body that crying was unacceptable and unnecessary, yet sometimes it slipped out. The first time she'd cried in her adolescence was when she thought she was literally going to die, hanging on to Sokka as she dangled off the edge of a fire nation airship. If she were keeping track, the only person she'd ever cried in front of aside from her parents was the man sitting right next to her. And so she cried.

Sokka simply held her close as she sniffled away her tears. When her eyes dried and her breathing calmed, she stayed put just a little longer.

"Look," Sokka started as his thumb continued to rub her shoulder, "I don't know what happened, and if you don't want to tell me then I won't be offended. Okay, well, I might be a _little_ offended if my lifelong friend kept a secret from me, but it's fine, I'm sure I'd get over it." He seemed pleased when that produced a chuckle from the emotional woman in his arms.

"I really don't know why I'm so worked up," Toph pulled out of the embrace and re-situated herself in her seat. "It shouldn't be a big deal. It's just… I'm upset because I didn't get to see Lin's first time earthbending. Stupid, right?"

Sokka shook his head. "No, not stupid. Perfectly reasonable, in fact. I can't bend, so I don't quite understand how it works or the supernatural reason behind it. But from what I've gathered seeing Katara and Kya's relationship, I can guess it's a deep, emotional connection between parent and child, right? It's the one thing you _know_ they got from you, and you can then become their mentor. I mean, I know a parent is already their child's mentor, but this feels different."

Toph looked at him slightly stunned. "That's… that's exactly right. Wow, you've really grown up, putting emotions into words and what-not."

Sokka laughed, "Hey, I had to grow up some time, right?" The mood shifted when he sighed. "I'm guessing that's why Bumi feels left out most of the time. I know Katara and Aang don't mean it, but they aren't as close with him. That's why I try to be as good of an Uncle to him as I can. It's hard not having an adult similar to you in your life. I know Katara would have thrived if there were other waterbenders in the south pole, just like I would have thrived if my dad were actually around… Anyway, what I'm saying is, Lin is lucky to have you."

Toph gave him a bittersweet smile, feeling guilty for ever teasing the only nonbender child of the Avatar. "And Bumi is lucky to have you. Maybe you can even teach him to use a boomerang."

Sokka groaned. "I already tried. He's not interested. Makes me wonder if we're even related."

"...I think it would be a little difficult for Katara to lie about being his mother."

"Says you."

They laughed, and in their silent afterward there was a palpable tension in the air. They simmered in it for a moment longer than a pair of people not attracted to each other would do.

"Hey, um…" Sokka started trepidatiously, "I just wanted to say, I appreciate you coming to me about this. I know you don't like to talk about your feelings and stuff. And I know it sounded like I was joking when I said I wouldn't be offended if you didn't tell me. But you should know that it was the truth. As long as you have _someone_ to talk to about all this, then I'm fine. I wouldn't care if it was me or not." He then grabbed her hand and squeezed firmly. "But I'm happy that it's me."

Toph hid a flattered smile as a fluttering sensation rose up into her chest and she withdrew her hand. "Since when did you get all mushy?"

Sokka slunk back into his seat. "Probably since all these kids joined the family. They're softening me up like butter."

"Well, they _are_ Aang's kids. They can be as disgustingly cute and playful as he was. You know, before he had to go and glow it up on Zuko's dad. That fight really changed him, and sometimes I -"

"Aren't you forgetting someone? Or is this your way of telling me that Aang is your baby daddy?" Sokka joked, catching Toph off guard.

"What? I - again, what?"

"Lin."

"And what about her?"

"Well, she's probably the one that's done the most buttering up, in my book."

Toph looked at him, still very confused. "But Lin is…"

"We're not blood related, no. But she's still my family. _You_ are my family, Toph, c'mon now."

Toph managed to escape responding when there was a knock at the front door. She continued to process what Sokka had just said while he got up to answer the door. He considered her family? And all this time she thought she was just one of his 'bros.' But if she was family, what did that mean? She never seriously considered pursuing any sort of romantic aspect of their relationship, but by the Spirits it was nice to think she had a chance. Now she was family-zoned. There really was no hope. Why hadn't she moved on, yet? Why is it that every time she got an inkling of a chance with him, this years-old crush somehow re-ignited? And what exactly was she supposed to do to stop it?


End file.
